Memory Keeper's Lullaby
by Ellipop
Summary: After Naruto's return from long training, a mysterious girl who seems to know a lot more than she shows appears in Konoha. What key does she hold in Konoha's and Naruto's past?
1. A mysterious girl

Naruto: Memory Keeper's Lullaby

NOTE: This story takes place in the very beginning of Naruto Shippuden series. Naruto has just returned from two and half year long training and this is where my story begins.

DISCLAIMER: Hahaha, you should all know that I don't own Naruto or any characters from the series;)

RATING: I rated this story "T" because in later chapters (probably one or two), it will be actually more like "M." But except those couple, the entire story would be more like "K." Since I wasn't sure about this, I just decided to rate it as "T"

While Konoha was celebrating its old friend's return, there was yet another surprise waiting for them. It was a great day. Way too great for guards to sit around and do nothing. It was a pure miracle that they didn't fall asleep yet. Even though they were elite ninjas, nice weather and no work was too much to bear. However, all that changed when one person walked in.

"Hm?" The guard stood up. He noticed the change in atmosphere. For good or bad, he could not tell. He glanced at the nin-dog, but it didn't seem to be alert. Nonetheless, he kept a watchful eye on the gate. Soon he could see someone approaching. But…. A girl? What was a girl doing? He couldn't even the face because she was wearing the pointed hat that looked like the one for Kage. However, it didn't have any symbol of Kage and it didn't have the cloth that was used to cover the side and the back of the head. He figured that the girl was definitely not Kage because she looked too young. She was around fourteen, or fifteen, but there was something about her that made her look older.

"Halt." The guard said. The girl stopped. As she did, the wind opened her cloak a bit. He could see that she was wearing some kind of kimono that seemed to be customized in modern taste. The girl was wearing what looked like a white kimono cover-up with red outline. The cover-up only came upto her breats, revealing tight, sleeveless, turtle-neck shirt underneath. He could also see black shorts just under the cover-up. The cover-up and shorts were short. (DUH) Maybe way too short. He couldn't help blushing when he saw her slim legs shown under shorts.

"Yes?" came the answer. He hurriedly raised his gaze to her stunning dark amber eyes. She had a very delicate face, but her strong features defied that she was a helpless woman. _She is definitely a __shinobi_, the guard thought. The determination and strength in those eyes could only be found in those of shinobi. "As a visitor, you must identify yourself and the purpose of your visit." The girl tilted her head in confusion. That was when he noticed her bright reddish brown hair, tied by white ribbon. He had no clue how long it was since it was hidden in the cloak.

"That's strange. The last time I came here, you didn't check for names or purpose." He thought back when he heard this. True, Konoha didn't do this in the past. But that was about 3 years ago now. After the infamous chuunin-exam incident, Konoha was being more cautious toward the visitors. After hearing his explanation, the girl chuckled and removed her hat. "I'm just an old shinobi visiting her town," she said, revealing the headband of Konoha shinobi. "I just came to see the old hag."

* * *

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune burst into the room without knocking. Frowning, Tsunade hurriedly hid her bottle with alcohol, but it was too late. "What!! Can't you see I'm working?" Tsunade made a lame excuse, fully knowing that Shizune already noticed. Shizune surpressed a sigh. This wasn't time for argument. It could wait. For now. 

"There is a visitor. Apparently, she's only fourteen or fifteen. She has a Konoha shinobi headband, but no one ever remembers seeing her. If she truly is a Konoha shinobi, why doesn't anyone know her identity?" Tsunade frowned at what she was hearing. The girl could be a fraud after all. Gaining a headband from wounded or possibly dead ninja wasn't a hard job. Just because she had the headband, that didn't mean she could be trusted right away. Especially when no one remembered her.

"What's her name?" Shizune frantically went through the visitor log.

"Mizuho Rena." Tsunade frowned even deeper. She didn't remember anyone with surname Mizuho. "Uh, Tsunade-sama?" She raised her gaze to her assistant. "When the guard asked her purpose of the visit, she said…. Well…." Tsunade knew in an instant something was up. She pushed Shizune for an answer. She finally said, "Well, the girl said 'I just came to see the old hag.'"

A vein popped out of her forehead. There were only couple people who dared to call Princess Tsunade _old hag._ And even those people weren't allowed to call her like that easily. For someone that young calling Tsunade _old hag_ was more like a suicide. (Unless you were Naruto, of course.) She stood up, almost knocking her bottle. "Show me where she is. I'm meeting her," said Tsunade, gritting her teeth.

* * *

While all these things were happening, the girl, or Mizuho Rena, was the calmest of all. She was sitting on the roof of one of the houses, closely being watched by the guards. She had taken off her hat and the cloak, revealing her full outfit. Not only kimono cover-up, and black tight outfit, she also had kimono-looking sleeves that only went upto middle of her upper arm. It seemed that they could be taken off if she wanted. She was also wearing gloves that started from the ring in the middle finger, and covering her entire palm. Her long reddish brown hair that nearly reached her hip was blowing freely with the wind. Looking ahead, she saw the _old hag_ marching like a mad bulldog. Seeing this, she couldn't help chucking. Tsunade has always been hot-tempered. By calling Tsunade old hag, she didn't have to bother with the guards or paperworks or appointment to talk to the current Hokage of Konoha. It was a little rough plan, but it worked anyways. She gracefully hopped down in front of Tsunade and Shizune. 

"You…" Tsunade stopped. _The girl is indeed a shinobi_, Tsunade concluded, watching the girl jump from the roof. Possibly from Konoha. But Tsunade didn't let her guard down. Noticing this, Rena raised her both hands in sign of peace.

"Look, you can see I'm unarmed. I left the belt that has all of my weapons to the guards. I wanted to talk to you immediately and I assumed that by calling you old hag, you will march here right away. That would save me a lot of time bickering with guards and Shizune to meet you. Sorry about my rudeness of calling you old hag, Princess Tsunade." Rena finished her speech with bowing her head down.

Tsunade couldn't say anything in response due to sudden turn of event. She was sure that the girl was an enemy; but since she was unarmed and now confessed the reason of calling her old hag, Tsunade wasn't so sure. But she wasn't going to let go of her suspicion too easily.

"You're only fourteen or fifteen. If you really lived in this village and got the headband from the academy, someone must remember you. Yet, I haven't seen anyone who remembers you, Mizaho Rena." Tsunade emphasized the name, implying that the girl could have made a false name. Knowing Tsunade's intention, Rena laughed heartily.

"Of course they don't remember me. I can't even remember when I was ever in academy." Tsunade and Shizune looked confused. Rena stopped laughing and said, "I could explain this right now, but I would rather talk in private. The information I'm about to give should never be handled lightly. Do you get what I mean?" Tsunade looked into the deep, dark amber eyes. A kid, a mere kid could not have this kind of look. Even shinobis. So much authority (like some kind of royalty) and determination could not come from a girl at her age. Tsunade just nodded and said,

"My office will suffice you?" The girl nodded. Tsunade turned around leading the way. This was going to be a bit more complicated than she thought.


	2. Tsunade's Decision

Tsunade, Shizune and Rena quietly walked to Hokage's office. While walking Shizune couldn't help but whisper to Tsunade, 

"Do you think this is OK?" Tsunade just shook her head. "Shizune, it's not like we can do anything about it yet. First, we need to talk to her and then we can decide if we are trustworthy." Shizune nodded in agreement.

They finally arrived at Tsunade's office. Sitting in her seat, Tsunade eyed Rena carefully. She didn't seem to be intimidated by Tsunade's glare. "Now," said Tsunade, "we are in my office. Do you feel confident enough to identify yourself?"

Rena merely shrugged. "I already said my name, didn't I? What information do you need?"

Shizune jumped in. "There was no file of Mizuho Rena, and no one in Konoha remembers you. How do we trust that you _are_ indeed from Konoha?"

Tsunade stopped Shizune. "Also, what is your purpose? I know you wanted to meet me, but now you have, do you have anything else?"

"I heard the Naruto has finished his training with Jiraiya-sama. My request is to be placed in Team Kakashi in place of Uchiha Sasuke."

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise. Uzumaki Naruto was someone who needed the most protection, especially from Akasutki, since he was a jinchuuriki. Placing someone unknown in his team was something that she couldn't afford to risk.

"How do we trust you?" asked Tsunade.

Rena removed her headband which looked old and worn out. "I know this is not much, but you should be able to trace the chakra in this headband. If you figure who the real owner of this headband is, then whether you trust me or not… That's your choice, Tsunade-sama."

When Tsunade received the headband, she felt a familiar warmth all of sudden. _Could it be?!_ She hurriedly felt the chakra around it. There was familiar one, and the strange one. She concluded that the strange chakra belonged to Rena. But then whose chakra was the other one? After a minute of inspection, a revelation hit her. _Yondaime__…_ Tsunade's eyes darted forward to the girl.

"Explain yourself. How do you have the headband of Yondaime Hokage?" Shizune grew pale when she heard this.

Rena calmly took her headband back. It was so fast that Tsunade couldn't do anything to stop her.

"It's a very long story that I vowed to reveal to no one. But you should know that there was no way that I could take this from him by force. This was entrusted to me by him, or should I say Namikaze Minato?"

**NOTE: This name is from Naruto manga Ch. 367.**

Tsunade's face grew stoic with shock. This girl. This girl had Yondaime's headband, and knew his real name. Could she be possibly related to him? But she looked nothing like him, and Tsunade was pretty sure that Yondaime had no family.

It had been a mystery that his headband disappeared after he sealed Kyuubi into Naruto. Everyone tried to look for it, but no one could. Sandaime (Third Hokage) seemed to know something, but people didn't dare to extract the fact from her former sensei. Tsunade bit her lips. It was true that Yondaime would never give his headband unless he had a trust in this girl. That was an old tradition. To give one's headband in sign of trust. But Rena was only fourteen. There was no way that she could have gotten this headband at that time. Unless…

"How did you get this when you're only fourteen?" asked Tsunade. "And you should know why I'm asking you this question."

Rena merely chuckled. Of course she knew. It was impossible for fourteen year old girl to have a headband that went missing fourteen years ago. "Let's just say this was another part of Yondaime's legacy."

Tsunade frowned at the girl. She really really hated this mind game. The girl wasn't providing with enough information. But still, it was pretty clear that she had no intention of harming anyone. _I wish __Sarutobi__-sensei was here_, Tsunade thought.

"Fine. I will place you in Team Kaka…."

"HEY, TSUNADE OBAA-CHAN!"

For the second time in a day, a vein popped out of her forehead. This wasn't going to be Tsunade's good day. But as soon as she looked up to see who called her, she couldn't help smiling.

"Oi, Naruto."

The boy has grown. A lot. He grew more than 20 cm. Sakura was standing beside him and now Naruto was taller than her. Kakashi and Jiraiya followed immediately.

"Good, everyone's here, I suppose," said Tsunade. "I assume that you heard your situation with Team Kakashi, right, Naruto, Sakura?"

Both of them nodded. Tsunade glanced at Rena. Jiraiya and Kakashi noticed her as well. Tsunade cleared her throat.

"There… has been a change in the plan." Kakashi raised his eyebrow in surprise. Tsunade pointed to Rena.

"This is Mizuho Rena. She just came into Konoha. Apprently, she is a shinobi from here and she wishes to be a part of Team Kakashi." Naruto and Sakura glanced at her curiously. Rena just smiled at them.

"Kakashi, Jiraiya, can I talk to you privately?"

Noticing her intention, Sakura quickly grabbed Naruto out of the room, followed by Rena.

As soon as the door closed, Tsunade eyed Kakashi and Jiraiya. "Well? What do you think of the girl?"

"Mizuho Rena, eh?" said Jiraiya. "She didn't seem to have any malicious chakra." Kakashi nodded in agreement and added, "her chakra is unusual, I have to say. But there is nothing bad. Actually, her chakra level almost equals with Naruto's."

At this new information, Tsunade grew interested. "I just don't understand that no one rememberes her when she's only fourteen from this village. And then, she showed me something as a proof of trust…"

Jiraiya and Kakashi waited patiently for Tsunade to continue. She opened her mouth gradually, almost painfully. "It was the headband of Yondaime."

Jiraiya froze instantly. His mind went back to his former student. Cheerful, ramen-freak, energetic, and fun loving student. And definitely, a prankster. But the one who knew when to be cold and serious like a true shinobi. Someone who loved the village so much that he was willing to sacrifice his own life for Konoha's safety. Rena had the headband of _him_? Jiraiya already knew about the mysterious disappearance of Yondaime's headband, but he never expected to see it again. Moreover, from a fourteen year old girl.

"It… it is very possible that she got it from Minato," said Jiraiya. "It wasn't like that he died in battlefield. There was no way she could have gotten it from his body. If she really got that headband, she definitely got it from him."

Tsunade didn't look convinced. Kakshi just smiled.

"Don't worry, Hokage-sama. Just put her in my team for now, and I will keep an eye on her."

She finally nodded in agreement. "Except…."

The men looked at Hokage intently.

"For the test that you're preparing for Team 7. Have one for just Naruto and Sakura."

Jiraiya looked at her, surprised. He knew exactly what she was going to say next. So did Kakashi.

"For Mizuho Rena, you will be facing her one-on-one."


	3. Calm before the storm

**RATING: I rated this story "T" because in later chapters (probably one or two), it will be actually more like "M." But except those couple, the entire story would be more like "K." Since I wasn't sure about this, I just decided to rate it as "T"**

After deciding what to do with Rena, Kakashi took his new team to the training ground.

"Rena, why don't you have a seat over there? The first test will be between me and Naruto, Sakura."

Rena gave him a knowing look, but she didn't protest. She sat against one of the poles. The pole that Naruto had ended up being tied so many years ago. She could see Tsunade, Shizune and Jiraiya were watching as well. Rena raised her hand and smiled.

As the battle started, Rena kept a close attention to how they were battling. Especially Kakashi. Of course, she knew Copy-nin Kakashi but since she has never fought him before, it was vital to take as much information as possible from this battle. Gradually, her eyes began to change color and familiar veins appeared around her eyes.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune quickly tapped Tsunade. Annoyed, she tore her gaze from interesting battle to her pupil. Her eyes were telling Shizune that there had better be a good reason. Instead of saying anything, Shizune pointed at Rena. Tsunade, curious, turned her gaze to the new girl. When she did, she finally figured out why Shizune had called her.

"Byakugan?" Tsunade blurted out almost in horror. Byakugan was kekkei genkai that was only passed down in Hyuuga family. How could she have that? She wasn't related to Hyuuga clan, as far as Tsunade knew. This girl, Tsunade bit her lips, this girl has way a lot explanation to do.

* * *

After winning Kakashi with unexpected strategy, Naruto and Sakura were in very good mood. While they were heading to Ichigaku ramen shop to celebrate, Rena found Kakashi, breathing heavily from fierce battle. 

**NOTE: Sorry I'm not writing about the battle in detail, but if you read manga, or watch anime, you will get what I mean by 'unexpected strategy.'**

"I guess they have grown a lot to push you like this." She smiled, sitting down beside him. Kakashi just smiled and nodded. He had never imagined that they would be this good. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find Rena staring at his eyes. He already had his headband covering his sharingan, so he was a bit taken aback by her stare.

"You look really tired. I wouldn't normally do this, but since you have another battle coming up, I will make an exception. Consider yourself lucky." She winked and placed each hand on his shoulder.

Instantly, he could feel the chakra flowing into his body. It wasn't a medic jutsu, because he had no injury. Surprisingly, he could feel that his tired muscle and mental stress were slowing going away. When she finally removed her hands, he felt as if he never even fought with Naruto and Sakura. Kakashi stared at her in disbelief and caution. There weren't many medic jutsu that could do this. In fact, he didn't even know if it was possible. Curing wounds and poison was one thing, but restoring entire stamina? He didn't think so.

Rena just smiled at him and cheerfully said, "Oh, come on. That was one of my best try. Was 'thank you' too much to ask?"

Kakashi just muttered something that sounded like Thanks. Rena smiled and said, "Naruto and Sakura have already gone to Ichigaku. I think others will be in that area too. Why don't we start going too?"

* * *

Rena found Naruto and Sakura eating ramen at Ichigaku. "Oi. Sorry I'm late. I had some business to attend to." Sakura smiled and handed her chopsticks. While all three were eating ramen, Rena said, "By the way, you guys were amazing. I've never seen such a fierce battle. I hope I'm not going to be too weak for this team." 

"So.. you are joining this team?" Naruto asked in a muffled voice. Rena shrugged. "I guess it all depends on the test tomorrow."

"I still can't believe Tsunade-sama asked you to take the test by yourself. I mean, Kakashi-sensei is a jounin, and you are..."

"Chuunin. I'm still a chuunin. You too?" Sakura nodded. "Ah, Naruto! You should take chuunin exam soon. You are the only genin in our age group!"

When he heard what Sakura said, he almost choked on his ramen. "EEEHHHH? Everyone's chuunin? Since when did that happen?"

Sakura sighed. "It has been two and half years, Naruto. There was plenty of time for everyone to take chuunin exam. Oh, and Gaara, remember him?"

Naruto suddenly stopped eating. Rena paid attention to Sakura's words as well. Sabaku no Gaara, Jinchuuriki of Shukaku. What could possibly happen to him?

"He became Kazekage of the Sand." Rena and Naruto looked at Sakura in disbelief. The council actually let Jinchuuriki be a Kazekage? _The world is becoming tolerant faster than I thought_, Rena thought, eyeing on Naruto.

Naruto had a mixed expression of disbelief, jealousy. But one could tell that his biggest emotion was the happiness from bottom of his heart. "Yeah... So he did it, huh? He became Kazekage. Now, I can't stop training until I become Hokage just like him!" Then he started devouring his ramen. Rena was smiling at him about how he was fueled to get even stronger. To prove his existence.

"Are you sure about what you saw?" asked Jiraiya, still not believing Tsunade's finding. "I mean, Byakugan is one of the strongest kekkei genkai in Konoha. How could she have it?"

Tsunade rubbed her temple. She was trying to find out the answer to the same question for a long time, but couldn't. And Kakashi's tale of what happened to him after the test only worried her more. According to Kakashi, it wasn't a normal medic jutsu. It was just transfering one's chakra to another. Since it wasn't a jutsu, the whole operation relied solely on the control of chakra. If a person faltered their chakra flow even once, both of them could have been in real danger. Tsunade bit her lips in frustration. Rena must have an excellent knowledge of chakra flow. Actually, it wasn't just knowledge that was required. That kind of control needed something innate. The ability to feel the chakra around oneself and read the flow before performing that kind of thing.

"What are we going to do, Hokage-sama?" Jiraiya asked. Tsunade grunted. She knew Jiraiya called her Hokage just to piss her off even more. And probably to give her some pressure. After a long thought with alcohol in her system, she finally put down her cup.

"Well, what can we do? It will all depend on the test with Kakashi, eh?" Kakashi looked mad and dreadful about the fact that the entire responsibility was now on his shoulder.


	4. The test

**RATING: I rated this story "T" because in later chapters (probably one or two), it will be actually more like "M." But except those couple, the entire story would be more like "K." Since I wasn't sure about this, I just decided to rate it as "T"**

Hahahahaha, I think this deinitely shows a new side of our new character, Rena. She's not all serious, mature type of girl. And you will see the new side of Kakashi as well;)

Warning: This chapter gets pretty "kinky." Consider yourself warned!!

hope you enjoy reading this!!!:D

* * *

Rena was paying attention to the adults in opposite shop. From their grave faces, it was possible that they found out about Byakugan, or something like that. She sighed. She never meant to use it and get caught this early. She was watching Naruto's and Sakura's battle pattern, and to watch it more closely, she activated one of her special abilities without even noticing. She should have been more careful. 

"Something wrong?" Rena suddenly snapped out of her thought. Sakura was looking at her worriedly.

"Nah, it's nothing. Probably tired from the trip. It's been long since I actually slept in a house, since I mostly slept in the forest or something," said Rena.

"Oh, hey! Hey! I know! Why don't we go to the hot spring nearby? It's great when you're tired!" Naruto burst in, getting a glare from Sakura. Rena chuckled. He was just like _him_. Someone who she knew from a long time ago.

"Eh?" That was when Sakura noticed. While Naruto was packing, she could see Rena staring at him. But it wasn't the way that a friend would look at another. It was… as if a mother was looking at her child. _Hm__, maybe I__'__m thinking too much_, thought Sakura. _After all, she does act more mature than her age._

It was decided, then, that they would head to the hot spring.

* * *

Naruto hurriedly wrapped himself in a towel. It's been ages since he visited here, and he was dying to get into hot water to relax. But when he entered the hot spring, he knew his long relaxation was gone. 

"EEEEEHHHH??? Ero-se…!!!" Naruto's sentence was blocked by Ero-sennin's hand.

"SSSSHHHH!!!!! Don't say my name so loud! You will scare the girls out!"

Naruto sighed. After two years, this guy hasn't changed at all. He must have heard Naruto telling them that they should go to the hot spring. Naruto glared at him. Jiraiya just laughed and said,

"I told you. This is for data gathering."

"Data gathering? I will use my Sexy No Jutsu if you want."

"Nah, the only sexy babe I saw for two years was you! I need someone new!" While he was finishing his sentence, he was already finding a peek hole to girl's side of hot spring. Naruto sighed and just got into the hot spring, determined to not take a part in this.

Soon, Rena and Sakura came out. Jiraiya couldn't help his smile. The girls were _fine_. Sakura has grown a lot since two years ago, and the new girl was an exotic beauty. Her skin looked pale and silky against her dark reddish brown hair, her amber eyes only adding exoticness. From her fitting outfit, Jiraiya could guess that Rena was pretty slender girl with the right amount of curves. _Now, just take off that towel_, thought Jiraiya, patiently waiting for the moment.

The girls finally reached at the edge of the hot spring. They were about to pull down their towels. As they slowly untied the towel, Jiraiya's eyes were about to pop out of the socket. But then…

"Ah, Sakura-chan. I forgot to bring something. I will be right back." Then Rena turned around.

Jiraiya couldn't help a small groan when suddenly Rena was gone. Before he even looked around to see where she was, Rena suddenly appeared in front of him, frowning.

"Well, well, well. Looks like some people didn't learn their lessons yet."

The sound of slapping rang across the entire hot spring.

* * *

Next morning, as much as he tried, Jiraiya couldn't hide the hand mark in his cheek. Tsunade questioned him about it, but he decided it's better not to tell her. After all, Rena did use Tsunade's technique of incredible strength when she slapped his face. Of course, it wasn't as deadly as Tsunade's, but still it was still bad enough that the hand mark to be shown until the next morning. Among Naruto's giggle, Rena noticed it too and she just gave him a wink. Grudgingly, he rubbed his cheek, as if he just got slapped. 

Soon, Rena and Kakashi stood face to face. Naruto and Sakura were with Tsunade and Jiraiya. The kids were as curious about the outcome as the sennins.

Rena broke the awkward and intense silence by saying, "I assume you're feeling good, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Good as new. Thanks to someone," said Kakashi, waving one bell in his hand.

She smiled at his reply and before he noticed, she was behind him, kunai in her hand.

"Good, because if you're not, it won't be fun."

_She is fast!_ Sakura looked at them in disbelief. She couldn't even see Rena moving. Who was she? It was unbelievable that she was only a chuunin. If she had that kind of speed, it wouldn't be surprising to say she was well in jounin level.

"Hut, I guess Naruto is not the only one who doesn't know when to start." Kakashi said calmly. And with a pop, Kakashi standing there turned into a log.

_Bo__dy Substitute __Jutsu!_ Rena quickly jumped away. She frantically looked around. Left, Right, Above. He was nowhere to be seen. _Does this mean he__'__s hiding in the ground again?_ When a thought came into her mind, suddenly two hands sprang out of the ground.

_Inner Decapitation __Jutsu? __NO!_ There was not much time left before he dragged her down to the ground, and it was too late to escape since his hands already grabbed her ankles. She quickly gathered up chakra in her hand. Looking at familiar sphere, Naruto's eyes grew big with surprise. _She can use __Rasengan?_

Rena released the chakra sphere into the ground. "Rasengan Wind Blade!" As the sphere met the ground, the blades of chakra released from the sphere, destroying the ground around her. As the ground crumbled, the hands came loose and Rena quickly jumped away in safety. Soon, Kakashi came out of the grounds.

_Interesting __jutsu,_ thought Jiraiya. _She made __Rasengan__ with Wind element. As soon as __Rasengan__ hit the ground, she released the chakra in the area pushing through the ground like wind blades. Unlike __Rasengan__, which can only affect nearby area, this __jutsu__ can destroy as much area as desired._ Jiraiya was impressd. Learning Rasengan was one thing, but adding elemental characteristic and improving Rasengan's one of the weakness was another. This girl was no ordinary shinobi.

Rena and Kakashi stood there, panting. Rasengan was a powerful jutsu, but it also cost a lot of chakra. She was just hoping that he didn't notce that. Kakashi, on the other hand, was impressed that she could analyze the situation and come up with the solution that quickly. He could also tell that she could do that by watching yesterday's battle very closely. She was somehow able to read the battle pattern and anticipate his moves. However, she only watched one battle out of so many. She wouldn't be able to get by so easily.

But knowing that she was wind natured was bothersome to Kakashi. As lightning natured, that meant his ninjutsu wouldn't as effective against her jutsu.

**NOTE: ****According to elemental nature of ****ninjutsu****, wind nature is strong against lightening. The order goes Fire is strong against Wind, Wind against Li****ghtening, Ligtening against Earth, Earth against Water, and Water against Fire, completing the cycle. **

Kakshi was fully on guard now. _Does she already know I__'__m lightening natured?_ If she did, then he was definitely in trouble. Rena, who was kneeling on the floor, slowly stood up. She didn't have much time. Getting ready for an attack, Kakashi took out his kunai, just in case. However, Rena just made a couple of seals and,

"Soundless Sleep Jutsu!"

"WHAT?!" Shizune cried in surprise. _Could it be?_ She thought. _Could it be that Rena could use poison __jutsu?_ Tsunade's eyes grew narrow from realization. _I see__…__ So Rena is fire and wind natured, thus able to create poison._

Suddenly, mist took over the training grounds. Kakashi looked around, trying to find her. However, he didn't notice any attack or even someone being near him. Realizing what she was trying to do, he smiled. She was definitely a good shinobi, but she still had a long way to win against him.

The mist thickened and slowly crept to where everyone else was watching the battle. Before either Shizune or Tsunade made a seal to protect themselves, they saw a thin chakra barrier, like a dome, protecting them against the poison. Tsunade's lips curled in a smile. So, the girl had enough nerve and time to protect everyone amongst this fierce battle.

"Huh? What is this? Is this some kind of mist jutsu?" asked Naruto. Sakura shook her head.

"To most people, it looks like a mist, but in fact, this is a poison."

"Poison? Then, isn't Kakashi-sensei in trouble?"

"I believe," Tsunade jumped into the conversation. "Kakashi couldn't hear or see what she was doing. Not revealing Sharingan was his vital mistake."

It was true. Kakashi never expected Rena to be this good, so he decided not to use Sharingan at first. From the moment the battle started, he must have realized his mistake. However, he could have made it.

"Hey, Tsunade Obaa-chan. I'm asking if Kakashi-sensei is in trouble."

Tsunade glared at Naruto as if she was going to hit him. Before that could happen, Shizune quickly explained.

"Don't worry, Soundless Sleep Jutsu is only sleeping poison. He won't be in any trouble. But if he even took one breath in this mist, then it's over."

At that moment, Rena slowly cleared out the mist. Unless Kakashi anticipated her move and got out of there quickly, there was no way he could have held his breath long. From far away, everyone could see Kakashi, lying on the ground. She smiled. Soundless Sleep Jutsu was not an easy jutsu. With Rasengan, and this jutsu, her chakra was almost run out. Well, technically. Her plan to finish the battle quickly has finally worked. Rena bent down to take the bell when…

"You should never let your guard down, Rena."

In an instant, Kakashi got up, grabbed her wrist and pinned her to the grounds. By doing so, he could tell that she wasn't Kage Bunshin. Rena let out a frustrating grunt.

"But how? You couldn't have held your breath that long!"

"Well, I didn't," said Kakashi, looking straight into her eyes. Rena's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Heh, I see you came out with your secret weapon," she said calmly, gazing into his Sharingan.

"I have to say it was close. At first, I didn't think I would need this for you. But after seeing how you attacked me in the beginning, I thought otherwise. When I saw your seal, I realized what I was against and made Hidden Mist Jutsu."

Rena, realizing the situation, bit her lips. Poison was useless against mist. The water vapor in the air could defuse the effect of poison. _He must have fought against a __shinobi__ from Village of Hidden Mist,_ Rena painfully thought. It was her mistake. Even though it was a pretty powerful jutsu, she was dealing against the Copy-nin Kakashi. She should have taken more care.

"It looks like you're pretty much out of chakra. You won't be able to use any more advanced jutsu like Rasengan or Soundless Sleep."

Rena averted her gaze. What Kakashi said was true. She was trying to finish the battle with Soundless Sleep Jutsu. Once he fell asleep, it would have been over. She smiled at her new challange. True, now she was outmatched by the jounin, but she wasn't going to let it end this easily.

She gathered chakra on her feet and kicked his stomach while he wasn't paying attention. She quickly got free from Kakashi's hands and hid in the forest, trying to buy some time to think. Noticing her intention, he too hid into the forest. In fact, he needed some time to recharge as well.

* * *

_Ok, think, Rena, __think_ She tried to concentrate. She was hiding in one of the trees, so hopefully it was going to buy some time. But she knew she didn't have much. _What was his weakness? How did __Naruto__ and Sakura manage to get the bells?_ She concentrated on their battle. How they fought and how they ended up getting the bells by… 

_Wait a minute._

She finally remembered one of his weaknesses. But of course, she couldn't use the same technique that Naruto and Sakura used. He would already know how to counterattack that. But as long as, Icha Icha Paradise was Kakashi's favorite novel, she still had a chance.

Few moments later, Naruto and Sakura found Rena coming out of the forest, and standing in the middle of ground. _What is she thinking?_ thought Sakura. _Does she really think she can handle __Kakashi__-sensei with direct attack?_

Later, Kakashi came out of the forest as well, facing Rena. She gave him a mischievous smile.

"One last attack. If this doesn't work. I will admit my defeat, and you can do whatever you want with me."

Kakashi gave out a chuckle. "You seem to be pretty confident about this."

Rena merely shrugged. "What else have I got to lose? At least, I survived this long against you. I guess I should take that as a compliment."

Sakura couldn't help agreeing with what Rena said. Yesterday, she did pretty well against Kakashi-sensei but she had Naruto by her side. Rena was by herself, and she was fighting an almost even battle. She sadly concluded that if she was there by herself, she wouldn't stay that long against him.

"Thanks to Naruto and Sakura, I know one of your weaknesses."

Kakashi curled his lips in smile. "Well, too bad for you. Because I managed to read the entire novel last night. The same thing wouldn't work."

Rena smiled. "Oh, I didn't mean by that. Somehow, Naruto's Sexy No Jutsu seemed to be working pretty well against all adults." Naruto couldn't stop help giggling at what Rena had said. It was true so far, but he never tried that jutsu in front of Kakashi-sensei. He was itched to find out if it was going to work on him.

"Well, I _am_ a girl after all. So I don't need to bother going through that jutsu," said Rena, grabbing the ribbon that was tied on her waist. Catching the drift, Sakura blushed. If Rena untied that ribbon, the whole outfit would just open up! Was she trying to strip in front of Kakashi-sensei?

Tsunade could tell Jiraiya was anxious to see Rena's next move. Sighing, she tried to ignore him and concentrate on the battle. This girl… she could be _very _unpredictable sometimes, thinking of doing something like this.

"I don't think that kind of thing would work on me. I'm not Jiraiya-sama," said Kakashi, glancing at now pissed off Jiraiya.

At his answer, she just smiled. "Really?" Her hands clasped in a seal and she cried, "Transform!"

With a smoke, for a second, no one could see anything. But when everything became a bit clear, no one could keep their jaws in place in surprise. Basically, Rena has done Naruto's Sexy No Jutsu. But she looked different. She was a girl with long dark brown hair with same colored eyes. Naruto thought he has seen the girl before. Then he remembered. _She is the girl __in the__ cover o__f __Icha __Icha__ Paradise!_ Naruto couldn't help smiling. _Even __Kakashi__-sensei wouldn__'__t be able to hold back on __that._

However, the jutsu seemed to have more effect on Jiraiya than Kakashi. While Naruto was having a hard time holding Jiraiya from running to Rena, Kakashi was hard time keeping his face straight. It was very difficult but he did manage to stand (though barely) even though he was looking at his now favorite heroine, naked. Rena seemed to be a bit disappointed that Kakashi was still standing. Then she licked her lips in a mischievous way and murmured, "let's see if you can handle this."

Suddenly, another Rena, transformed, popped out of the ground. She hugged Kakashi from behind, practically dangling on his shoulders. Surprised, Kakashi couldn't even do anything for a second. The warmth and the softness on his back was just too much to assimilate. Naruto was wishing really hard that this battle be over quickly because he didn't know how long he could hold onto Jiraiya.

Before Kakashi could even do anything, Rena whispered in his ears.

"_Do me._" (It was one of the most famous lines by the heroine of the book.)

That was Kakashi's limit. With the nosebleed, he fell on the ground. With a cry of joy, the girl in front of Kakashi disappeared, and the girl who was hanging onto Kakashi turned back to Rena. Laughing hard, she bent down and picked up the bell.

"All right! I win!"


	5. Rena's past

i love athrun: Thanks for the review!! And here's the new chapter for you!:)

School is starting soon!! Hopefully, I will still have time to write this consistently. Hope you're enjoying:)

* * *

Naruto and Sakura, with big smiles in their faces, ran to Rena to congratulate. Rena made a big peace sign. But even though she was smiling, she just collapsed on the ground. 

"Rena!" Naruto and Sakura quickly sat beside her. Rena made a faint laughter.

"Haha.. I can't move my body at all…"

"Of course. You used a lot of chakra with those jutsus." Naruto and Sakura found Jiraiya standing. Somehow, he managed to wipe off all the blood from his nose. He picked her up and motioned to Naruto, "hey, can you bring Kakashi to his apartment? I don't think he will need to go to hospital for that. I will take care of her."

Naruto and Sakura gave him untrusting looks. For someone who tried to peek at the girl's side of hot spring, and who wrote novels like Icha Icha Paradise, and who was much more affected by Rena's Sexy No Jutsu, they weren't really sure if they can trust Jiraiya with Rena alone. Especially when she couldn't even move herself.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm not that untrustworthy!" Jiraiya made a big smile, but it didn't seem to help.

"Don't worry about Jiraiya. He knows what he's doing," Tsunade stepped in. Naruto and Sakura, still eyeing Jiraiya carefully, reluctantly took Kakashi by each arm and went away.

"Hehe, thanks, Jiraiya-sama," said Rena, almost sleepily. It was just a normal side-effect of using too much chakra. She glanced at Tsunade, who was standing beside Jiraiya. "Does this mean I'm in?"

Tsunade scoffed. But in an affectionate way. Rena's attitude was just like Naruto's. She remembered the day when he mastered Rasengan. To win the bet. To prove to Tsunade that he could be Hokage, Naruto actually mastered A Rank difficulty jutsu in a week. Somehow, Rena's struggle to prove herself to Tsunade didn't seem too much different. Tsunade sighed. There was no other way.

"All right. Once you're recovered from your lack of chakra. You're officially part of Team Kakashi."

Rena, happily smiling, seemed to fall asleep as she heard the answer.

"Why don't you take her... _there_?" said Tsunade, heading to her office.

"Sure. I still don't get why she would want to live in a place like that though," said Jiraiya, turning to head to Rena's apartment.

"Well, part of the reason is that there is nowhere else available. Konoha is pretty packed. And I don't think she wants to stay in hotel for too long."

Listening to Tsunade's answer, Jiraiya just nodded. Before too long, they were gone.

Rena slowly opened her eyes. When she did, she could see the sun set. _Wow, __I__ must have been out for a long time, _she thought. But when she turned her head, she almost screamed to find Jiraiya sitting by the bed.

"What are _you_ doing here?" asked Rena, automatically pulling up a blanket.

"Well, it was unsettling to leave a young girl like yourself, all alone and defenseless. So I decided to keep your guard."

_YOU are the only one that __I__ need to be concerned!_ Rena thought in her head, but she thought better not to say it. She just bowed her head slightly and said thank you. She got up from the bed. Sleeping definitely made her feel better.

"Why don't you stay for dinner anyway? I already know where dining room is."

"Ho, so you already know the outline of this manor?" said Jiraiya, eyeing on the girl.

Rena just spun around and stuck out her tongue. "Oops. I guess I just got caught sneaking into Konoha for a night."

Jiraiya just shook his head. "You're unbelievable. The fact you snuck into Konoha is one thing, but you risked doing that just to see this place? And you're actually willing to live here?"

She just laughed. "What? There was no other apartment available. Besides, no one wanted to live here, but no one dared to tear this place down either."

"Of course," Jiraiya suddenly grew serious. "This is _the _Uchiha Manor after all."

**NOTE: Well, ****I**** guess ****I**** shouldn****'****t use term _manor_****, but what the heck.**

Rena was silent. This was the house where Uchiha Sasuke used to live. After the slaughter, no one ever wanted to live here. And because it was the main house of great Uchiha clan, and also since the last heirs of Uchiha, Sasuke and Itachi, was alive, no one could or wanted to tear the place down.

"Heh, why are you so gloomy all of sudden? It was my choice to live here. You don't have to worry a thing." Rena smiled, definitely trying to cheer Jiraiya up. And it seemed to work because Jiraiya just let out a small laughter in response.

"Hurry up," said Rena, pushing Jiraiya. "If we don't get something to eat soon, I will starve to death!"

Jiraiya had to admit. She was really really a good cook. Since he was a traveler, he couldn't even remember the last time he ate a meal that someone made for him. But it wasn't that bad. Actually, if a cook was as good as Rena, he thought he might not mind staying in one place and eat these delicious meals.

"How do you like it?" Rena asked, taking off her apron and sitting across Jiraiya.

"It's really good. It's surprising to find a young girl like you can cook this well."

Rena's face turned slightly red from his compliment. Seeing her like this made Jiraiya smile inside. Sure, her unusually strong nin-jutsu and incredible amount of chakra raised his and Tsunade's guards, but he could tell that she was just like a normal kid.

While he was eating, he decided to ask about Rena's past, just to break the silence. She calmly said, "I wasn't born in Konoha. But both of my parents were shinobis from there. I don't know why, but they weren't allowed in the village before I was even born. They traveled around country after country, teaching me various jutsus. About a year ago, both of my parents died in ambush in Suna. They thought we were some kinds of spies. Until the new Kazekage intervened and made sure that I meant no harm, I was…." She stopped with painful looks.

"You were tortured for information, weren't you?"

Rena nodded, tears in her eyes.

"They apparently found some unusual quality in my chakra, so they thought I was some kind of secret weapon from Konoha. (That was because my parents still had Konoha headband.) They didn't notify Konoha about us in fear of that shinobis from there will launch a rescue team."

"How did the new Kazekage help you?" _The new __Kazekage__…__ she must be talking about __Gaara,_ he thought.

"I don't know how, but he knew the cause of unusual chakra. He quickly set up a meeting and asked shinobis what happened. I don't think they reported Kazekage about it, because they wanted to make sure that I was a spy from Konoha before reporting. I think… I think Kazekage got really mad about the situation. He immediately ordered to heal my wound and release me immediately"

"And…" Jiraiya finally asked the question he was dying to ask. "How did you get the headband of Minato? And his real name? Not many people know it these days, since he was called Yondaime Hokage."

Rena just shrugged. "It was my parents. When they were dying, they gave me a headband and told me it once belonged to Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage. They told me to go back to Konoha …. And…." She seemed to have hard time continuing the story with all those tears from her eyes. "They… they told me that this headband will ensure my innocence and safety. Before they could te…tell me how they got it… They were already……" She couldn't continue. She just broke out in a sob.

Jiraiya looked at Rena sympathetically. To endure so much in her age. He kneed down in her eye level in front of her. Suddenly, he grabbed her neck and tilted her face upward, meeting her gaze. Surprised amber eyes stared into his.

"Are you sure you're not lying about any of this?" Jiraiya asked sternly. Rena seemed to relax a bit that he wasn't going to attack, and she answered,

"I'm sure I'm not lying, Jiraiya-sama."

As she was answering, he was checking her pulse on her neck with his fingers and her iris. Her pulse would be faster and iris wider if she was lying. But none of this seemed to happen. Jiraiya sighed and let his hands go.

"Sorry about this. But I just had to check, you know?" He smiled sadly.

"Of course, I understand. You should be cautious since I'm not a shinobi from this village. Well, not technically." Rena smiled. It seemed that she didn't mind his surprise interrogation.

Jiraiya stood up and packed his gigantic scroll. "Not technically?" He asked. Rena was just looking out the window.

"Even though I wasn't born from this village, my parents told me so many things about here. So I feel like this is my home rather than Land of Whirlpool."

Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise. "You were born in Land of Whirlpool?"

Rena silently grunted about her carelessness. But she had no other choice than explain. "I stayed there barely a year. My parents were still traveling. I just happened to be born there. Actually, I haven't even been there since I was born…." She turned toward the window once more.

Her loose reddish brown hair reminded Jiraiya of someone. But he just couldn't tell who. There wasn't anyone in Konoha with red hair. So who could it be? Jiraiya just shook the thought out of him. He was just thinking too much. Besides he had to leave the village soon. He had a job to do.

"Well, thanks for the dinner. It was very delicious," said Jiraiya, waving his hand.

"Thank you. I hope to see you again soon." Then, he was gone.

Rena sighed silently. It seemed Jiraiya didn't seem to care slipped information too much. When she was about to smile in relief, he stopped abruptly.

_Konoha__ runaway __shinobis__, mysterious disappearance of Minato__'__s headband, the girl__'__s origin in Whirlpool__…__ Out of all places, it was Whirlpool__…__ and__…_

_The red hair._

Jiraiya turned around, only met by a sudden blow in his stomach. He should have noticed an obvious attack like this, but Rena has already added a small dose of drug and slightly nullified the keenness of all senses. And the punch wasn't normal one. Just like how she had slapped him once, she already prepared her fist with moderate amount of chakra. He would be knocked out about 20 minutes, at least.

Rena slowly took off Jiraiya's forehead protector. Looking at his unconscious face, she murmured,

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But I can't be caught now. After all the work I've come through. After all the struggle I had to go through inside of me…."

Rena put her forehead on Jiraiya's. The spot where their foreheads met appeared a green glowing light.

"I'm sure you're familiar with this. After all, I had to do this to you, Tsunade-sama, and Shizune-chan when you were sleeping last night. It was my mistake to let it out so easily… What did you call that….? Byakugan? I guess it's a close enough name."

The light disappeared and she pulled away. Gently, she put the protector on Jiraiya's forehead.

"I promise, Jiraiya-sama. Time and truth will tell all."

* * *

Half an hour later, Jiraiya woke up suddenly. He had the worst headache ever. He groaned as he got up. Rena quickly got to his bed. 

"Are you OK?" she asked worriedly.

Jiraiya tried to remember what had happened. But the last thing he remembered was the lie detecting method that he used to Rena.

"Ugh, what happened?" Jiraiya asked groggily.

"There were some unpacked packages on the floor. As you were returning after you figured out that I wasn't lying, I think you tripped on them and landed on the head. It's been almost half an hour since you passed out. I had some trouble carrying you here." Rena winked.

He looked around. They weren't in the dining room anymore. In fact, it looked like a very nice guest room. He rubbed his temple. Tripping and falling to be unconscious? He was definitely getting old. Jiraiya awkwardly got up. Rena handed him a small parcel.

"It's a medicine I quickly made. It will ease your headache."

Jiraiya smiled and took the parcel. Before he was getting out of the room, he didn't forget to say,

"Oh, by the way, sorry about the lie detecting thing. I… I just had to check, you know."

Rena smiled. "Of course, I understand."

"And thanks for the medicine." And he was off.

"No… _I_ am sorry_."_Rena said quietly as she closed the door.


	6. Mission 1

Oky Verlo: Thank you for the review and a little advice about school life:D

All right. The plot moves on!! (Finally) I posted an artwork of Mizuho Rena in my deviantart. Hopefully this link would work:p

http://altessaria. size1 width100 noshade

* * *

Naruto woke up pretty early in the morning. It was very surprising since he usually woke up at noon. At the earliest. However, there was a reason to his unusually early wake-up call. Today was the first mission of his new team. At first, he wasn't sure about the new team member, Mizuho Rena, but she had this mysterious power of making people believe in her. And seeing her how she defeated Kakashi-sensei yesterday definitely made him trust her wholeheartedly. He was also sure that she could be a prankster if she wanted. He was busy formulating what kind of pranks he could pull with her. 

Sakura and Rena were already waiting by the tree for Naruto and Kakashi. Kakashi appeared about 20 minutes late.

"AH! You're late again, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto bellowed, clearly annoyed.

"Well, this time, I was delayed by filling out the paperwork for the new team," Kakashi gave a new excuse.

"Hahahaha, not because of my Sexy No Jutsu?" Rena attacked him sarcastically. Three chuunins laughed hard, remembering yesterday's battle.

_I__'__m__…__ losing my dignity, aren__'__t I?_ Kakashi miserably thought. He still couldn't believe that he had been beaten by _that_ kind of jutsu. He buried his head in his hand. He never knew he would fall for something that Jiraiya-sama would.

But after using such powerful jutsus like Rasengan and Soundless Sleep, she ended up winning with the unexpected jutsu. Kakashi smiled. _Always expect unexpected._ Naruto should watch out for his title of "Most Unpredictable Ninja."

While they were bickering about what a new mission might be, Kakashi noticed a hawk flying in the sky. Kakashi's eyes grew narrow. Hawks were the messengers among villages. What could have happened?

"Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi snapped out of his thought, finding Rena staring up at him. "Are you OK?"

He smiled and said, "Oh, I'm fine. Let's all head to Hokage-sama."

At the moment, the hawk landed on the edge of Konoha Message Center.

**NOTE: Sorry about lame name, but ****I**** seriously ****have**** no clue what that place is called. ****I****f you could let me know, that will be great. Thank you**

A shinobi quickly figured out where the hawk was from.

"Oh no! This is the fastest hawk from Suna, Takamaru! It must be urgent. Decode Team, figure out what this message says immediately."

And so, a whole new crisis was about to present itself.

* * *

"EEEHHHH! That mission. No thanks." Naruto grumbled. 

"EH? What kind of response is that?" Tsunade asked him, her chin in her hands.

_Please don__'__t do things like this again._ Kakashi hoped._ I will get in trouble as your sensei._

Iruka just shook his head. Two years have passed, but Naruto hasn't changed at all.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sensei. I will sort him out," said Sakura hurriedly. She immediately launched a head-lock to Naruto. Rena stepped in.

"Hokage-sama, I know it's not my place to speak, but Sakura and myself are chuunins and you will not deny that Naruto's level is well above average chuunin. Besides, all three of us beat the jounin, Kakashi-sensei, no matter how ridiculous the method might have been."

Kakashi's face grew slightly red under the mask. He was sure that they will never let go of this topic for a long, long time.

"Therefore, just because Naruto is still officially a genin, giving us a D Rank Mission is unreasonable. Especially, when they have already done A Rank Missions."

Tsunade eyed Rena carefully. She was basically saying the same thing as Naruto. But since she used logic instead of complaining like Naruto, she couldn't really find a comeback to it. She hated when other people were right. And when she was wrong.

Tsunade was itching to tell them about Naruto's situation. His special situation as jinchuuriki. She couldn't afford to give him dangerous missions in fear of endangering boy's life. Especially when Akatsuki was after him. But she knew better not to tell anyone. There was a law, after all, but she didn't want to tell them when Naruto didn't want them to know. But withtout that explanation, there was no way that Tsunade could really explain why she couldn't give them higher rank missions.

Suddenly, a woman burst into Hokage's office.

"Hokage-sama! This is an utmost emergency! Kazekage has been kidnapped by Akatsuki! We just received a message from Suna."

_Gaara_ Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

Tsunade sighed. Guess her plan to keep the boy safe wasn't going to work out after all.

"All right. Team Kakashi, I will give you a new mission. You will go to Suna immediately, find out about the situation, and relay it to Konoha. Then you will follow orders from Suna and back them up. Understood?"

Four of them nodded and dispersed for their new missions.

* * *

"Can you explain me more about Kazekage?" asked Rena, along the way to Suna. 

Kakashi glanced at her and started explanation. "The new Kazekage is Sabaku No Gaara. He became Kazekage about a year ago, and things seem to be running pretty smoothly with him."

"Kakashi-sensei. I meant by why Akatsuki was after them."

"Akatsukis are after jinchuurikis. And Gaara is jinchuuriki of Shukaku."

Rena looked at Kakashi, surprised. _So that was how he figured out my chakra_, she thought. She knew that Naruto was already a friend with Gaara, but she had no idea about Gaara being a jinchuuriki. She smiled. No wonder Naruto was happy to hear of him being Kazekage. It must have made him feel closer to his dream.

"So… the organization Akatsuki… They're after jinchuurikis?"

"Well, you could say that. Their real target is the bijuu inside of them."

Rena snorted. "It's not like they can do anything with them anyway."

Kakashi didn't say anything. From then on, they proceeded with silence.

"Temari-san!" Sakura shouted out of nowhere. All of them stopped. Temari was walking on the path. Kakashi told her what had happened. It was a huge shock for her since she was on the road she never knew what happened.

"Then, you guys are on the way to Suna?" Temari asked calmly. All of them nodded.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get move on!" shouted Naruto.

"Naruto, I know we have to hurry, but don't get over-excited," warned Kakashi.

"But sensei…!"

"Don't worry." Rena intervened. All of them looked at her curiously. She had a scroll in her hand.

"I wasn't going to use this method since I wasn't sure. You said your name was Temari?" She nodded. "Temari-san, do you know if Suna ever tear down the place called the Temple of Byakko?"

_What a strange question_, thought Temari. But she knew better not to argue with this girl. It was the first time that she met Rena, but there was something about her that held some kind of authority.

"No. It's still considered sacred, even though no one now remembers what _Byakko_ means or what that temple was for."

Rena smiled and with a swift movement, she opened the scroll. "In ancient past," Rena explained. "There were portals throughout the countries. But since this was such an easy entryway to other countries, their locations were heavily guarded."

She knelt down and started making seals. The columns of gibberish started to glow.

"The Keepers were the guardian of the portals. Only they were allowed to have the scrolls. And since the scroll was in ancient language, which no one bothered to study, it was not easy to open the portals if you were not a Keeper. That was why the Keepers had to be the strongest ninjas of the countries. Because once they were caught, their country could be in danger."

As she was explaining this, Rena was still making seals. Sakura lost count how many of them there were a long time ago.

"The reason I asked Temari-san if the Temple was gone was that the portals were located in temples. It was said to have sacred protection. Since that place isn't broken, then I can open the portal, thus saving days of traveling."

She finally finished the seals and put both of her hand on the scroll. The letters in the scroll shone brightly, and before they knew, a metal door appeared out of nowhere.

Everyone, except Rena, didn't seem to trust the metal door. Rena shrugged.

"Oh, come on. This was one of my best techniques. The least you can do is trust me."

_This girl__…_ Kakashi thought_, has a way with words._ Rena confidently opened the door. The light coming out of the door was intense. At one's blink, Rena was gone. Four of them just stood there for a while.

"Do you think it's safe, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, breaking a long silence.

"Well, I can tell what she did is an ancient jutsu. So I can't exactly tell what their intention is for. But then, there is no way that Rena would deliberately trap us, right? I say we give it a try."

Then they were in.

Not knowing exactly where to go, they just kept going forward. Then the light was gone and they were standing in… a temple.

"That took longer than I thought," said Rena, jumping off the statue she was sitting on. "I guess you guys took more _caution_ than necessary, eh?" She just winked and led them out of the temple.

"In… incredible," murmured Temari. They were indeed in Suna. They just saved valuable days of traveling! _Who is this girl?_ She thought. It was very unusual for someone to know ancient jutsus, let alone a girl like this. _No matter_, she concluded. They were in Suna now, and that was all that mattered.

"Temari!" She turned around, finding a Suna shinobi. "I can't believe you made it this fast! Hurry, they have got Kankurou as well."

"What?" _First __Gaara__, now __Kankurou_ Temari gritted her teeth. There was no time to waste.

* * *

After battling with poison, Sakura finally managed to save Kankurou. Team Kakashi was to head to Akatsuki's hideout to rescue Gaara. And unexpected help came. 

"As a Suna shinobi, I will be joining you." Rena and Naruto eyed the elder called Chiyo-baasama. She was the one who attacked Kakashi-sensei back then. Naruto and Rena automatically blocked her attacks, but they could tell that this hag was no ordinary elder.

It did turn out that she made a mistake of thinking Kakashi was his father, White Fang of Konoha, but they weren't going to let their guards down.

"May I ask why you are trying to help us, Chiyo-baasama?" Rena asked calmly.

"If you didn't know, Sasori the puppeteer is my grandson." Rena and Naruto, surprised, let down their guards. They already knew that one of the Akatsuki members was Sasori. "I haven't given him my love for awhile, and I'm dying to meet him again."

After long battles and some rests, (Sorry, but I really don't want to write the battles with Itachi and Kisame in detail. You can read manga or watch anime for that) Team Gai and Team Kakashi was in front of the seal. Team Gai has spread out to take off the tags.

Once Kakashi and Team Gai have taken off the tags, Sakura used her incredible strength to break the stone. At one blow, the stone crumbled in pieces and they were in. Suddenly, Rena stopped.

"What's wrong?" asked Kakashi. Rena looked troubled.

"Team Gai. They got into a trap. Since we already have five people here, I will go back them up."

Kakashi nodded and then signaled others to go in.

There were only two people in there. And they were sitting on Gaara. A bad feeling came into Kakashi.

_Are we too late?_

"Well, I wonder which one is Jinchuuriki, heh?" asked Deidara.

"You bastard, I will crush you!" Naruto yelled, already part of Kyuubi's chakra seeping into him.

"That one?" asked Sasori.

"Sure look that way, doesn't it?" Deidara chuckeld, excited for yet another jinchuuriki hunt.

* * *

I think I need to make this clear for some chapters to come. As you realized my story goes pretty similar with the actual manga/anime of Naruto. This mission is the only time that the plot will be similar. After they rescue Gaara, the story will take different turns. Because I really want to move plots, a lot of details will be cut in future chapters. If you want good battle scenes, check out mangas and animes!! 


	7. Mission 2

eternalafterlife: Thanks for the review!! Hahaha, I can't tell you who she is YET, but your guess could be possible. I'm glad you like this fanfic:)

* * *

As soon as everyone went into the cave, Rena looked around in case there were more members of Akatsuki. It seemed that those were the only two. Sighing in relief, she quickly climbed up. On top of mountain, she picked a spot and used her heightened sense of vision to check upon the members of Team Gai. As she had guessed, the trap has sprung. The trap that she knew too well.

_Just like him._ She bitterly thought. The trap was to make a immediate replica of those who disabled the trap. Unlike Kage Bunshin, it had better endurance against attack, and its attacks were more formidable. Rena bit her lips. This jutsu will certainly take time, but it was the best one to fight against the trap. She quickly picked up a stick and started scribbling something on the ground.

The rune consisted of circular opening in the middle and letters forming around it. It took nearly ten minutes to complete the rune. She grunted in frustration. It would take at least an half an hour to complete it since she had to make four. Hopefully, Team Gai would stay alive for that long. Rena sat down and started chanting for the jutsu that she was about to do.

Half an hour later, she opened her eyes and made a few seals. Just as she finished the jutsu, the whole mountain started crumbling. She could get out of the wreck just in time. _What kind of battle is going on?_ She thought. Rena was surprised to find only Sakura and Chiyo-baasama in the cave. They were against one of the Akatsuki members. Since he was using a puppet, he must have been Sasori. That meant, Kakashi and Naruto was against the other guy.

Her first instinct was to go assist Naruto and Kakashi, but she disregarded that option. This guy, when she first glanced at two, was far stronger than the other one. If someone needed help, it was Sakura and Chiyo-baasama. And Sasori was the one who came up with the deadly poison. Rena knew Sakura had three doses of antidotes, but if they ran out, then Rena was the only one who could save them. Struggling to calm herself that Naruto was going to be fine, she jumped down into the cave to assist Sakura and Chiyo-baasama.

* * *

"What the...?" Neji was the first one to notice the irregular movement of the ground. He tensed immediately. It was just like the time when the _clone_ had appeared. He could feel a sweat rolling down. One was hard enough to deal with, but if there were two? He would surely have a losing match. However, when the ground finally rose to the full height and took its form, Neji couldn't help but whisper, "Rena?" 

Neji just met Mizuho Rena today. He could feel the unusual chakra in her with his Byakugan, but he didn't say anything since she didn't seem to be harmful. Besides, wasn't she part of Team Kakashi? Was she one of the clones like the one standing in front of him? But how did she perform such a deed? Apparently, she made a exact same thing that the trap apparently did. The girl gazed at him and said,

"Sorry I'm a bit late. This jutsu takes a long time." She winked. "But don't worry."

The exact three other clones who were aiding Lee, Tenten, and Gai said at the exact same time.

"I'm here to help."

* * *

The real Rena, in the meantime, was beside Sakura and Chiyo-baasama. They seemed to be beaten down a lot. Rena felt a pang of guilt in her heart. She tried to calm herself and asked the situation. The battle was turning out bad for Sakura and Chiyo-baasama. They only had one dose of antidote left, and Chiyo-baasama was out of puppets. Or so they thought. 

Chiyo-baasama suddenly pulled out a scroll. Skillfully, she rolled it open to reveal ten puppets. Sasori seemed to be impressed.

"Heh, impressive, grandma. It's said that the puppeteer's strength depends on how many puppets one can control. I've heard about this technique, "Ten Fingers, Ten Puppets." You must be determined to win since this is your ultimate jutsu." Sasori's eyes flashed with glee.

"Very well, then. If you're presenting yourself with your best technique, I see it is _my_ duty to present you with mine. You used your puppets to take down an entire castle by yourself, but..."

Sasori opened a scroll as well and middle of his chest opened up. _So his entire body is a puppet,_ Rena thought. Hundreds of strings were streaming out of his body. One connected with each puppet.

"But _I_ used these to take down an entire country."

Sakura's, Rena's, and Chiyo-baasama's eyes grew in disbelief. _How many puppets are there anyway?_ Sakura thought. There was no way Chiyo-baasama could take down all of them. But they had no other choice but fight. The battle was on.

Rena and Sakura did their best to fight the puppets along with Chiyo-baasama. However, there were simply too many of them. Rena could tell that Sakura was getting tired. In fact, it was worse because her antidote time just ran out. Realizing the seriousness of situation, Rena grabbed Sakura and stood beside Chiyo-baasama. When Sasori's puppets tried to attack them, a reddish dome appeared as a barrier. Sakura remembered this from Rena's battle with Kakashi. But then she didn't have a spare energy to think as poison started taking a toll on her.

"Sakura!" called Chiyo-baasama worriedly. Rena quickly put both of her hands on Sakura's chest. She found a surge of chakra inside of her and pushed it to Sakura's body.

"Purify!" With green glow, Sakura's face turned more serene.

"Is she OK?" asked Chiyo-baasama.

Rena nodded. "All of the poison in her body has been purified." She looked at the puppets. The battle seemed desperate for only ten puppets and two chuunins. Rena closed her eyes. There was no other way. She had to use _it._

"Chiyo-baasama," she looked at this strange girl who just came to help. She looked determined, but could detemination save them at the time like this?

"Please retreat all the puppets. I need your backup." Chiyo-baasama looked at her in disbelief. Retreat all the puppets? That was like a suicide! She couldn't really do anything in hand-to-hand combat. That was more Sakura's specialty. But she seemed to be unconscious thanks to the poison. Rena looked at her defiantly.

"Chiyo-baasama. I know it sounds crazy. But please, trust me. This is the only way we can save ourselves and defeat Sasori. Please."

Her eyes... How strange... A fourteen year old girl couldn't have a pair like those. She looked as if she has gone through all the hardship and sorrow the life could offer. But she also looked victorious to overcome all those challenges. The determination and confidence in her eyes... Chiyo-baasama couldn't say no to her. Reluctantly, she retreated all the puppets.

Rena tried to ignore Sasori's roaring laughter. He must be thinking that they gave up on the battle. But she was far from it.

She pulled out strings of kunais from her back pouch. They had different shapes than regular kunais, and they had some kind of tags around the handle area. Rena handed them to Chiyo-baasama. The elder could feel that the kunais were heavier and had some trace of chakra in them. What were these kunais?

"Put as many kunais as possible through the chakra string and aim them to each puppet. Once the kunai hits the puppet, it will come back to you. I will count on you to continue throwing the kunais."

One per each puppet? That was insane. "Rena, I don't think you know how strongly these puppets are built. One kunai won't..."

"Oh, don't worry, Chiyo-baasama." Rena smiled. "I know exactly what I'm doing."

The elder sighed, desperately hoping what the girl was saying was true. She strung about thirty kunais in her string. All of them were aiming at the puppets. She could see Rena making a stance. _What the heck was she trying to do?_

"Ready?" Rena asked, tense from nervousness. Chiyo-baasama nodded.

"NOW!" The elder let go of the string and the kunais headed straight to the puppets. Then, she saw something that she never thought possible.

As kunais headed to the puppets, she could see a red flash in front of the puppets. After a few failed tries, she could finally see it was Rena. She was somehow _teleporting_ to the spot where kunai was and destroying the puppets in an instant with enhanced strength. The kunais served as the locations where she needed to teleport to. In seconds, all the kunais were back and the puppets were destroyed. Snapping out of her thought, she quickly re-loaded the kunais and aimed at the other puppets. Continuing this for awhile, there were considerably fewer puppets. When there was only one, Sasori himself, left, Rena flashed back to Chiyo-baasama. She looked definitely tired. The elder could see that the girl's eyes were soemwhat unfocused with bags under them. _Fighting those puppets in an instant like this must have cost a lot of chakra._

Then there was a stir behind them. Sakura has opened her eyes!

"Sakura..." Rena seemed relieved and she fell on the ground. And the red barrier was gone.

"Rena!" Sakura quickly picked her up.

"Don't worry. She just used too much chakra taking care of all these puppets." Chiyo-baasama told her calmly.

_She took care of an entire army of puppets by herself?_She looked at Rena incredulously. Sunddely, she felt something behind her, and when she turned around, it was too late.

Sakura was staring at Sasori and his katana which was penetrating her body. With a cry, Sakura fell on her knees. Sasori slowly pulled out his katana. It has taken much, too much time, but it was finally over. Once he took care of his grandma, the girl lying down there, the girl who destroyed his best collection would pay the price dearly.

But while he was eying the girl, he didn't notice Chiyo-baasama's last attack.

Sasori couldn't believe it. It was the puppet of his mother and father. The first puppets he ever created. Their katanas were piercing through the piece in his chest.

"I'm sure you can't move anymore now. That piece in your chest is your real body, producing chakra."

Chiyo-baasama quickly came to aid Sakura. Her injury was bad. She gave her an antidote but Sasori sure has made an injury where it was tricky to heal.

"It's no use, grandma. I pierced the vital point of the girl. Even without the poison, she will die in no time. There is no medical jutsu that can revive her."

Chiyo-baasama merely grunted. "Fool, what I'm doing is not a medical jutsu. It's called revival jutsu. A jutsu I created for you. With my life and this jutsu, I could even breath a life into puppets."

A memory came into Sasori's mind and he glanced at the puppets of his parents. It was to create his mother and father again. For him. Chiyo-baasama just continued her jutsu.

"But now... It's just a dream to remain unrealized." She added sadly.

"...Pathetic, grandma... Real pathetic..." His head dropped.

The battle was over.


	8. Demon Gods

Sorry about the late update!! I've been getting a bit lazy--

* * *

"Hah... Hah... Hah..." The clone in front of Lee was breathing heavily. He couldn't believe his eyes. It's been about half an hour since the clone of Rena appeared out of nowhere. She was still struggling, but definitely winning. The fact that fake-Lee had no idea about Rena's ability of Taijutsu or Ninjutsu played a huge advantage to Rena. Suddenly, she stopped as if she realized something.

"I'm sure you rested enough. I'm taking care of Sakura and Chiyo-baasama. Why don't you go help Naruto and Kakashi-sensei? I've already taken care of Neji's trap. Go to him and he will tell you where they are."

Grateful for chance to help, Lee eagerly nodded and headed to Neji.

When he arrived where Neji was, Lee could see Tenten, and Gai-sensei was already there.

"Gai-sensei! Are you OK?"

He nodded in response. "Rena's clone is taking care of our trap. We need to go assist Naruto and Kakashi immediately." He turned to Neji and gave a nod.

"Byakugan!" Neji activated his kekkei genkai to search for Naruto and Kakashi. It didn't take such a long time.

"They're in the forest about 2 km away, northwest. They just caught up with the man with Gaara."

"All right, my youthful students! We are going to get there in three minutes!"

"No! Gai-sensei! Two minutes is enough!" Lee added.

"Idiots... You should know it will take at least 6 minutes to get there!" Tenten shouted.

Neji didn't even bother to say anything. He was already used to/tired of this kind of arguments. It was best to just wait. He sighed. He secretly wished that he could become jounin so that he could have another team. _Less ridiculous_ team.

"I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" bellowed Naruto. Kakashi, from using too much chakra with his new sharingan, could do nothing but rest for now. He was a bit worried about Naruto. As a jinchuuriki, he was more emotionally vulgar toward this whole situation. And emotional vulgarity was something that Naruto absolutely didn't need.

Then, Sakura and Chiyo-baasama appeared. Kakashi was glad for reinforcement but a bit surprised to see Rena passed out.

"What happened to her?" asked Kakashi.

"She took care of about a hundred puppets by herself. She just used too much chakra, that's all." explained Chiyo-baasama.

Kakashi took Rena into his arms. Indeed, he could see the signs of fatigue from using too much chakra. But... _Impressive_, he thought. _Taking care of a hundred puppets._ Besides, judging from the puppeteer's strength, those puppets wouldn't have been easy to destroy. _Well done, Rena._

"How are you doing, Sakura?"

"I'm fine. It was a good thing to make extra antidotes..." She stopped suddenly.

It just came to her. The antidote... She had been poisoned _twice_. She understood that Chiyo-baasama used an antidote to take care of the poison from katana that pierced her. But.. before that... When they were fighting puppets together. She did get injured and had to be carried by Rena. _What the heck happened to the poison at that time?_

"Chiyo-baasama." The elder looked at now anxious girl. "When I was poisoned during the fights with those puppets that Sasori was controlling. I was poisoned, right?"

The elder nodded.

"How did it go away? I just realized that you didn't use antidote on me at that time."

Chiyo-baasama just shook her head and pointed to, to Sakura's surprise, Rena.

"She used some kind of jutsu to purify your poison. However, I was busy fending off the puppets that I couldn't exactly see what it was."

Sakura looked at Rena incredulously. There was no convenient jutsu that could just take care of poison. What was point of antidote then? Then how could Rena purify the poison in her body? Sakura shook her head. That could be answered later. Besides, Rena was in no condition to answer and Naruto and Kakashi-sensei needed help. Their mission was priority.

Rena suddenly jolted as if she has been struck with lightening. She moaned in pain and her body temperature started to rise.

"What's happening... Kakashi-sensei!"

He looked at where Sakura was pointing. Kakashi immediately notice. Kyuubi's chakra was seeping out and taking form of fox. He remembered the conversation with Jiraiya-sama and also his warning. _When Kyuubi's chakra starts seeping and and taking form of fox, put this seal on Naruto's head immediately to surpress chakra_.

Kakashi took out the seal from his pocket and ran to Naruto. He already had second tail forming. Hoping it wasn't too late, he put the seal on Naruto's head. The chakra disappeared soon and Naruto was back to normal. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Kakashi quickly looked around. The man Naruto was attacking turned out to be a clay clone, Kawarimi. Then the real one was hiding in the forest, probably watching them even now. But where could he be?

"Well done, Neji." Kakashi spun around, finding Team Gai. They were standing behind the bush. The Akatsuki was probably hiding behind there as well.

Deidara cursed under his breath as Team Gai approached. He understood the situation. Jinchuuriki was one problem, but Kakashi was another. Now, he had to deal with other shinobis. This battle was over. There was no way he could defeat jounins and chunnins by himself! And because of this new reinforcement, he couldn't even escape. A small smile appeared in his mouth. Oh well, he would have to use _that._

Deidara quickly jumped out of the bushes, avoiding all the kunais and shurikens thrown at him. He landed next to his giant clay bird. He spat his kunai and took a big bite of clay. Kakashi and Team Gai was watching him cautiously, not knowing what he was going to do.

"Take a look at my ultimate work of art. Art is a BANG!"

Neji could see the incredible amount of chakra concentrating in the enemy's body. Realizing what was going to happen, he shouted, "We have to get out of here. NOW!"

Konoha shinobis started getting away from Deidara. But it seemed to be too late. The explosion was gaining on them. There was no way...

"Eh?" said one of Naruto's Kage Bunshin. The explosion... It was disappearing in front of their own eyes! What was going on?

"The explosion..." Kakashi explained. "I sent it to another dimens..."

He couldn't finish his sentence. Before he knew, darkness has taken over him.

* * *

"Huh?" Kakashi opened his eyes, finding himself on someone's back. Gai's back.

"What's going on?" He could see the stoic faces of Naruto, Sakura, Tenten and Neji. He figured out why. Even though it wasn't his fault, being on a grown-up's back for piggy back wasn't really a delightful sight.

"Gai-kun, I really don't think this is..."

"Of course not." Rena stepped in. She still looked tired, but at least she was awake. "We are going to use _that_ to return."

Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened. "You have that to Konoha as well?"

"Sure. No one dares to tear down _that_ temple." She added softly so that no one could hear it. "At least, not on my watch."

* * *

"Amazing..." said Tenten softly. Just like Team Kakashi went to Suna with portal, they just came back to Konoah by portal as well.

"What is this place?" asked Lee.

"This is..." Rena started sluggishly. Opening up a portal cost a lot of chakra. It was matter of time for her to pass out, yet another time.

"This is temple of Suzaku." Neji interrpted. Rena looked at him, surprised. Then she made a smile.

"Of course. You're from Hyuuga, the house with kekkei genkai, Byakugan. No wonder that you know."

Neji nodded. But everyone else was lost.

"What's Suzaku?" asked Naruto.

"Suzaku is one of the five demon gods that these nations are named after."

"But I thought they were named after the five elements." Sakura interrupted. Neji didn't seem to be so happy about it, so Sakura quickly looked away.

"The five gods are following. Suzaku, Seiryuu, Genbu, Byakko, and Shounu. They each represented the five elements: fire, water, earth, wind and lightening. Suzaku the Phoenix of Fire is known to be the only goddess of all demon gods. Her element is fire and she has the kekkei genkai Byaku-Sharingan, or White Sharingan. The legend says that Suzaku split her ability into two and gave it to two oldest houses, Hyuuga and Uchiha. That's why we Hyuugas celebrate the day we were bestowed with Byakugan from Suzaku and this temple was built for her."

"You're pretty impressive, knowing that you didn't study ancient history like I did." said Rena. "But you are missing one thing. Shounu was never a demon god. True, he does represent lightening and is considered one of the gods by many people, but the truth is the universe started with four gods."

She stopped for a breath, as if she was telling a top secret to them.

"When the Chaos was destroyed by four gods, it seemed that everything was all right. Land of Fire, Earth, Wind and Water were created and other small countries by humans. Demon gods were benevolent rulers, letting humans do whatever they wanted. However, when human's arrogance reached its limit, gods decided to do something about it."

Everyone listened intently to Rena's story.

"Human decided to create their own god. With their forbidden jutsus learned and encourage by Chaos, they developed a totally new element and created a demon fit to represent the element, Shounu the Yellow Dog of Lightening."

Kakashi tensed a little. Was it a coincidence that his summon was nin-dogs and his element was lightening?

"The gods weren't happy that humans went as far as to create their own god to worship. So Suzaku, the only female demon goddess, gave a birth to nine demons to punish humans."

Rena gazed at Naruto.

"Those were the bijuus. Kyuubi, inside of your body, was one of the demons born at that time."

Naruto flinched. That demon fox was that old? And if he was created by demon goddess, he had no idea how strong that fox could be!

"But it was no use. All the demons were defeated by Shounu. It was created by human's hatred, and anger. It mingled itself with Chaos to earn its unbelievable power. Realizing that they created a monster, not a god, humans tried their best to destroy what they once created. But..."

Rena's expression grew painful. It looked as if she was telling her own story, not the history.

"It was too late. The power of Chaos was so immense that its power was no match for them. Even the demon gods were having trouble defeating it. As a last resort, Seiryuu the Blue Dragon sealed Shounu inside his own body. The gods and humans were sad about the loss, but also relieved that the war was over.

But it wasn't. Shounu was not going to give up so easily. It... it took over Seiryuu's body. Now it had ability to control lightening and water. Other gods tried to defeat the demon but defeating two gods combined wasn't an easy job. Realizing that they will have to sacrifice their lives to defeat him, Byakko the White Tiger of Wind and Genbu the Black Tortoise of Earth sealed Suzaku so that she wouldn't be able to participate in the last battle."

"But why? I mean, they were losing. Didn't they need as much as reinforcement as possible?" asked Sakura.

"True, but Suzaku was the only one who was capable of producing demons. The bijuus would be strong, but they weren't immortal as gods. Byakko and Genbu knew that one day the bijuus would die and demons would no longer reign on earth. Well, for demon gods, that was unacceptable. Since Suzaku didn't need male to produce any children/demons, they decided that they will at least protect Suzaku for the future of demons.

Despite her protest, Byakko and Genbu managed to seal Suzaku and went into their last battle with Shounu. The battle lasted for years. In the end, the gods were only able to strip Chaos embodied within Shounu. That way, he was only a god like rest of them. After they weakened him, by sacrificing their lives, Byakko and Genbu sealed Shounu."

Rena jumped down on the ground, looking at everyone who was staring at her in disbelief.

"Well, that was my history lesson. After that, the world has been like this ever since. Well, except now people consider Shounu as demon god. No one knows if this is true, but since nations after their elements exist, the historian considered as truth. The temple of Byakko in Suna and this one in Konoha are examples of evidence that proves those stories are not just legends, but true history."

Rena's big story has ended. She leaned on Sakura, tired. "Sorry. But I haven't recovered fully yet. Would you mind getting me to the hospital?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan." Then Rena slowly close her eyes.


	9. Kidnapped 1

"Mmmm….." Rena tiredly opened her eyes. She could see that it was still early morning. She sluggishly got up from the bed. Her entire body was sore from excessive use of chakra. She groaned silently. It was really tiresome to have this kind of restriction. But it was necessary. Troublesome, but definitely necessary.

She realized that the nurses had taken off her garb. She was only wearing her black sleeveless, turtleneck top and black shorts. Next to her, she could see Kakashi. He was still deep in sleep. He still probably didn't recover from using his version of Mangekyo Sharingan. She had to say, she was surprised to see someone who was not from Uchiha developing Sharingan this far. Well, he was the first non-Uchiha with Sharingan. She knew why and how. And for a moment, it made her depressed.

She quickly shook the thought out of her head. This wasn't time to get nostalgic. Far from it. After everything was over, then she will have more than enough time to indulge into past. She put her hand on Kakashi's closed eyes. Red chakra appeared in her hands. She put there for several seconds. Kakashi seemed to frown a bit, but he looked much better afterward. Rena smiled.

"This is my gift to you for making it so far. It will be interesting to see how much more you can grow. Geez, when I saw you first doing Chidori, I thought you were already strong enough. But.. to see you like this… I should say I was wrong."

Rena took out her garb from the wardrobe. The nurses would kill her if they found out that she got out of hospital without their permission, but hospital wasn't really her place. Smiling, she quickly jumped out of hospital through window.

"Oi, Naruto." Naruto was surprised to see Rena waving her hand at his balcony. _What the hell is she doing here?_ He thought. _Isn__'__t she supposed to be at the hospital?_

"Nah, hospital isn't really my place." Naruto flinched. Rena just chuckeld. "Don't worry. I can't read minds. It's just that your face told me everything." She stepped into the house. Suddenly, Naruto was glad that he cleaned his apartment yesterday.

"Did you have breakfast yet?" asked Rena.

"Well, I was making Ramen. If you want, you can join me."

"Yes, I want to join you, but no, I don't want Ramen." She sighed, taking some vegetable out of fridge. "Wait there. I will make some breakfast for you. Eating ramen all day isn't good for your health, whether you like it or not."

Naruto was surprised but just smiled and sat down. Not eating ramen was disappointing but he always secretly wished that he could eat a meal that someone prepared for him. Ichigaku was somewhat different. Sure they made best ramen for him, but it was a restaurant. It was a place that provided meals as long as you paid. So waiting for someone cooking just for him was a weird sensation. Weird, but good.

"There you go," said Rena, as she put down a huge pot on the middle of table. "I made some beef stew. Come here, I'm starving."

Rena and Naruto sat down and gulped down. The food was excellent. He could swear that this was probably the best food he has ever eaten except Ichigaku's ramen.

"It was really good how things turned out in Suna."

"Yeah," answered Naruto, thinking about what had happened. Chiyo-baasama has sacrificed her life to save Gaara. For the future of Suna and Konoha. He was sad about the old lady, but he couldn't stop feeling happy. That he actually could save someone he cared about. The feeling that his training wasn't for nothing made him happier than anyone. Rena just smiled as she saw Naruto glowing with happiness as he remembered his last mission.

"Well, thanks for letting me here. I could have gone to my house, but I was getting real sick of eating alone." Rena stood up, ready to leave. Naruto just scratched back of his head, smiling. Rena smiled back and she was gone.

"Eh? Another mission? Already?" Rena said as she picked up an envelope on the floor. She's been out for couple days but she never expected a mission so soon. The message was from Tsunade. It said it was a C-Rank mission at most, and there was a special circumstance that only girl could take the mission. Rena frowned. She didn't like the idea of "only girl mission" but she had no choice. _Guess I won__'__t get any break._

"I see you have received your message." Tsunade said as soon as Rena entered.

"Heh, what is up with this? I just got out of hospital."

"You mean, ran out. The doctors never gave permission for your release."

"All I needed was rest. I was feeling better so I decided to get out."

"Good. Enough chit-chat. You should already know why I called _you_ here."

"Yeah, something about _girls only mission_. Right?"

"Correct. Do you know Brenade Restaurant?"

Rena frowned. She had a feeling that she will not like this mission.

* * *

"So… I need to wait for certain customers for _business meeting_ and figure out what they're doing and if determined threatening to the village, I sabotage them. Is that basically it?"

"Yes. We had information that the _business meeting_ is actually an exchange of information of village's ninja strength. If the information about ANBU and our shinobi gets out, it could mean disaster."

"And the reason that it was only _only __girls__ mission_ was because…"

"Because Brenade Restaurant only uses waitresses."

Rena couldn't help letting out a groan. Brenade Restaurant wasn't exactly a normal restaurant. It didn't go as far as whore house, but it was pretty close. The waitresses had to wear this maid uniform, and all the guests had their private rooms. Of course, the restaurant strictly forbade intercourse between guests and waitress but… except that… they could do anything as long as waitress wasn't seriously injured.

Long story short, that place was shady. Real shady.

But she could see why there would be a business meeting there. Many people went there, but since they all had private rooms, it was just the right place to have secret meeting like that. Sure, waitresses could spill the beans, but usually a huge tip could fix that easily. Besides, only weirdos went there. Not many _sensible people_ (in Rena's opinion) went there. So it was unlikely to be seen by many people.

"Who else is coming on a mission?"

Tsunade looked troubled by the question. "That's the problem. All the guys are ruled out first of all. And not any girls can handle this mission. For example, Hinata won't be appropriate for this mission because of her personality."

Rena remembered the Hyuuga girl. She was really really shy. Rena could see why she wasn't up for this mission. She would pass out the moment she walks into the restaurant.

"What about Sakura?"

"She was just called for a mission with Shikamaru. She won't be back for at least a week. And the information says that the meeting will be held there in no more than three days. So Sakura is out."

"And Ino?"

"Ino is in middle of training. I can't afford her to get into a trivial mission to stop her training."

"So….." Rena bit her lips. "I'm on my own."

"Not quite. As soon as Kakashi gets better, he will be there to check you as a guest. That is, if it takes too long."

Rena sighed. It seemed that there was no other way. "Did you have a word with the host?"

Tsunade smiled quite evilly. She knew that the girl was taking the mission. "Just go talk to Masaki."

* * *

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Masaki, the host and the manager of Brenade Restaurant, could see the girl wasn't happy to take this mission. He already had a word with Hokage-sama. It was quite disturbing that there would be a secret meeting that might endanger Konoha in _his _restaurant. He was just hoping that this girl was sensible enough to not make a fuss in the restaurant for reputation sake.

"So, what is your name?"

"Rena. Mizuho Rena."

"Hm. Some people might recognize you thanks to your unusual hair and eye color."

"Don't worry. I can take care of that. Transform!" Rena transformed into a girl with wavy, light brown hair with dark green eyes. The new-girl was a little shorter than Rena and she even had some freckles which were barely visible to add some innocence. Masaki was pleasant with the transformation.

"Your name in this restaurant will be Hikaru. You won't need last name since no one cares. The only one who knows your true identity is me, only me. So don't worry about other waitresses babbling about your identity. Girls can be blabbermouth sometimes."

Rena, or Hikaru from now on, frowned as she listened to the manager's insult to the girls. True, girls could be blabbermouth, but it wasn't really nice to hear it in the face. Hikaru just turned her head away to hide her expression. Luckily, Masaki didn't seem to notice.

"About the guests. Are there many new comers?" Masaki shook his head.

"Most of new comers are tourists from other villages. Most of guests from Konoha are regulars."

"So… there shouldn't be many groups that have people from Konoha and other villages, correct?"

"….Yes, what are you…." Masaki's eyes grew in surprise. This girl was young, but she was definitely smart.

"Yeah. If there is going to be information exchange, one's gotta be from other village and the other one from here. Since only people from other villages are tourists, they should be in groups. So if you see any group that has people from Konoha and other village…."

"Then we have our suspects."

"Exactly."

"But there is a problem." Masaki added. "There are some groups of people like that. Mostly, that must be a tourist and his tour guide. We will never know which one is which."

"No problem. Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Suddenly, five Hikarus appeared. "Just send me or my bunshins to rooms which have guests from Konoha and other village. If one of my bunshins or myself figures out who those traitors are, then I can take care of the rest."

Masaki smiled. This girl might have some attitude, but she was perfect for this mission.

* * *

Hikaru sighed. It's been already four days since she started working in Brunade Restaurant. She barely got used to wearing maid outfit, serving guests, and dealing with perverted customers without punching them. She had to make generally three Kage Bunshins to do all-day shift. But still, she couldn't see the trace of the _meeting_. Most of the people who she served were tourists, or long-time-no-see relatives. She was getting extremely frustrated with this mission. Since she never knew when the meeting was going to be, she stayed there all day. She even slept there! She really started missing her home. Even though, technically, it wasn't her home. (Remember? She's living in Uchiha clan's house.)

"Hikaru! Last one for today!" Masaki shouted.

Hikaru groaned. She was getting really dizzy lately. Was it because of stress? She glanced at the clock. It was fifteen before midnight. One more to serve. Then she was free to go to bed.

"Hello, gentlemen. My name is Hikaru and I will be your server today." The guests just glanced at her. Calmly, she poured tea into their cups. One of the guests, who seemed to be impatient, opened his mouth.

"So did you finally get the documents?" Hikaru didn't react at all, but her eyes narrowed. Could they be?

The other guest seemed annoyed and snapped, "don't be so hasty. It took long for me to get this. I don't wanna babble it in front of the waitress. They can be very big-mouthed."

She was paying all her attention to the guests. The one who snapped had a big suitcase with him. He seemed to be the one from Konoha. Who was the other one from then? It couldn't be Suna since it was allied with Konoha. That still left a lot of choices. Oh well, she would have to watch and wait for her moment.

"I will be back with your appetizer momentarily." She got out of the room.

As soon as she closed the door, she was shaken by exhaustion, nausea, and dizziness. She couldn't understand why. She has never been like this. Could it be…?

"Hikaru! Your food is ready."

Hurriedly, she went to the kitchen and grabbed her food. Biting her lips, she fought not to drop the food. She entered the room. The envelope was on the table. Maybe that is the….

"WHAT THE….?!" The man from Konoha shouted as she dropped the food on the floor. It splattered everywhere on the floor and his garb. "GIRL, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH….?!" He stopped in midsentence.

Hikaru was on the floor, groaning in pain. Her body felt like she was on fire. She managed to look at the clock. It was a bit past midnight. _No__…_ She painfully thought. _I should have realized it sooner. From today__…__ is_ the week…_…_She could feel her chakra slipping away from her.

Her transformation, from lack of chakra, was quickly undone. Two men were staring at her, surprised. Then the man from Konoha started laughing. "Well, what do you know? If this isn't the new shinobi in Konoha…" The other man was alert. "Shinobi? You told me this would be safe!"

"Well, I have to say this was out of plan. But this girl sure looks like she can't fight." An evil smiled stretched on man's face. "This could be more than I could ever ask for. Sadao, tie this girl."

Hikaru, or now Rena, struggled to move as she analyzed the situation. This was bad. Really bad. _The week_ was her most vulnerable point of her life. Every month, she lost all of her chakra for about 5, 6 days. Since today was the first day, she wouldn't be able to gather up her chakra for some time. She bit her lips. She should have known why her body wasn't feeling well. That was because her chakra was slipping away. She was struggling, but she couldn't even move a pinky. The man called Sadao approached to her. As she felt her hands and feet bound, she fell unconscious.


	10. Kidnapped 2

**WARNING: ****THERE ****IS**** A CLOSE-TO-RAPE SCENE**** IN THIS CHAPTER. IF YOU WANT TO PROCEED, BE MY GUEST:)**

Sorry for the late update. This took me a while to finish it, thanks to my laziness.

Finally. My school started. WOOT! I mean, I was really tired of sitting home and doing nothing. So going to school will give me some diversion.

* * *

"Uuuurrrrgggg…" Rena painfully woke up, feeling her hands and feet bound up. She was in… some kind of carriage. She couldn't see outside, but judging from the light coming through the small window, she guessed it was well after morning. Rena groaned. If the kidnappers have been moving since her kidnap, they could be well out of country right now.

She looked down, only to find her garb was gone. She was in her black top and shorts. She bit her lips in frustration. The garb had a special power to transform to any outfit that she has seen. So when her chakra hit zero, her garb's transformation was undone as well. They must have left it somewhere else to distract trackers. They were good. There must have been shinobis in their group, to know tactics like this. But that was not the only frustration. That garb meant something special to her. And taking it away from her without her permission was unacceptable. _Once I get my chakra back__…__ They will all pay_, she bitterly thought.

Then she remembered her current problem. She couldn't feel any chakra in her. This way, she couldn't even use simple jutsu. There was _one_ way to restore chakra, but she didn't rather want to do it. The other way was to get chakra from other people, but she wasn't sure if she was up for that one either. Besides, there was no one to get chakra from, so it was useless anyway.

She needed to be rescued. Fast. There was no time for trackers to be scattered, thanks to someone's idea to leaving her clothes everywhere. She dug her conscience deep in herself. Moments later, a bright reddish feather appeared. _Please__…__ Get there on time_ she hoped as the feather flew through the window. And she desperately hoped that Kakashi was out of hospital.

* * *

"What do you mean, she is not here?" One guest was yelling loudly. Masaki was having a hard time. The day Hikaru, or Mizuho Rena, was gone, this guy was looking for her. He had jet black hair and matching eyes. He had a strange scar over his left eye that gave him odd resemblance to someone, but Masaki didn't care.

"I'm sorry, sir. But.. but Hikaru is not working today," Masaki stuttered. He didn't want to reveal that a shinobi on mission was kidnapped in his restaurant. Well, he had to, but he was planning to do it with Hokage privately. So a sudden guest looking for her was a royal pain to him. He didn't want this guest to tell everyone that the restaurant was careless that a waitress was kidnapped. Now, he had to take care of this guest, so that he could go to Hokage-sama immediately.

While they were bickering, a glowing red feather glided in. It stopped in front of the guest. He stopped talking and eyed the feather carefully. Slowly, the feather led him outside of restaurant. _What could this be?_ He thought. He grabbed the feather and headed to Hokage's office.

"Hmmmm…" Tsunade looked at the feather curiously. "So… this feather… seems to lead you somewhere, correct?" Kakashi nodded. He was finally out of hospital and went to the restaurant to check on Rena's progress. Other jounins were back from a big mission recently, so he was the only one available at that time. But to find out that Rena wasn't there was surprising and disturbing news. He already knew that _Hikaru_ was Rena's alias in the restaurant. He was just going to see her as a guest, but apparently that wasn't possible.

"Well, I guess whoever sent this knew who you were since you're the best tracker in this village." Tsunade finally said. She let go of the feather, and it glided in front of Kakashi again, as if it were ordered to be around Kakashi only.

"It could be a rescue call from Rena or trap," said Kakashi. Tsunade nodded in agreement. This was a delicate moment. It was possible that Rena was out of country now. And since the _business meeting_ was with other country, it was also possible that there were shinobis from other villages. Tsunade groaned in frustration. Most of jounins and chuunins were back from mission to rebuild Suna. She didn't have a lot of choices. Besides, sending too many men will create suspicion.

"Hokage-sama, if you're worrying about who to send with me, I will just go by myself." Tsunade looked up. Kakashi looked determined. _Well, she is his student after all_, she thought.

"OK, but summon your nin-dogs to search for Rena's scent. Just in case."

"Understood." Then Kakashi was gone. Tsunade sighed. She hoped that everything will turn out fine. Hopefully.

* * *

"Well, we are here." Rena squinted her eyes as lights shone through the open door. It seemed like hours after she sent her rescue call. She could see the sky red from sunset. _What was taking them so long?! _She could see it was the man from the restaurant. The one from other village. What was his name? Ah, right, Sadao.

"Good evening, _Hikaru_" She just glared at the man for making fun of her. They were sorely mistaken to make fun of _her_ but for now, she was helpless. She will let them have their fun and after this, they will dearly pay for gloating at her like this.

"Do you think it's safe to unbind the girl?" Sadao asked other as they approached to him. They just seemed like a normal people. She was surprised to see some familiar faces. _They are Konoha! What are they doing?_ It didn't seem like they were part of this scheme. Well, not entirely. Then the man, called Sadao, must be the masterhead here.

"Well, she did lose all of her chakra for some reason, it seems." Her eyes stayed on Sadao. Talking about chakra, knowing that she lost all of it… It didn't take a genius too add up the facts.

"_You_ are the shinobi from other village, aren't you?"

He chuckeld and signal others to go away.

"That's right. I'm Sadao from Sound Village. Those morons are from Konoha working for me. Well, for now, at least."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really think I will let those who know me and what's going on live?"

Rena glared at him in anger. "YOU MONSTER! They don't even know they're working against their country! You wouldn't dare kill them all!"

"Hehehe, you're right. They don't know they're helping their country's downfall. They just think they're delivering goods, which is not totally false."

"So this carriage…."

"This carriage is carrying all the weapons and bombs…. TO BRING DOWN KONOHA."

Rena's eyes widened in shock. This man, he was babbling his plan to invade Konoha like it was nothing. There sure was only one reason for that.

"And you're telling me all this because you're going to kill me, right?"

He gave a vampire smile to the smart, little girl. "_Exactly_."

"Who is behind all this plan? And what happened to the man who gave you the information?"

"Ahhh, you mean the man under genjutsu. What was his name, Toshiro or something? Of course, it will be obvious to Konoha shinobi later that he was the one who stole the scroll of Konoha military. He wouldn't be able to avoid execution. So I took care of him for them. They have one fewer job to do." Then he roared in laughter.

Rena's head felt as if it were hit by a hammer. His laughter was roaring inside of her mind like a curse. The thought that innocent lives lost and would be lost because of this man's madness haunted her. She couldn't believe that he was actually willing to do this. Maybe she should have listened to _him _a long time ago. If she knew these kinds of things would happen in this world…. _Did you know the world would be like this? Is that why you suggested it to me? I hope you could answer me__…_

"I won't forgive you for…." Rena was interrupted by sudden body slam. She was knocked on the floor. Crying out with pain, she tried to sit up, only to find him straddling on her. His eyes were glistening in pure ecstasy and madness.

"You know… I will have to kill you eventually. But.. it doesn't mean I can't have some fun before I do that. I mean, once you die, it doesn't really matter, right?"

Her eyes grew wide in shock and horror, realizing what he was about to do. She struggled violently but she couldn't take down the man sitting on her. Laughing with victory, he drew a kunai and slid it underneath her clothes by collar bone. By his rough slide, it made a long cut along her collar bone, which made Rena wince with pain.

Sadao didn't seem to care about it. Slowly, and deliberately, he cut her clothes horizontally.

_This can__'__t be happening!_ Rena thought. _Was I wrong? Are they__…__ really not worth our mercy?!_

A sudden rage enveloped in Rena. She thought as if she was sinking deep in the water. What was happening in front of her eyes was going away……

The last thing she saw was big red bird.

Sadao quickly jumped back as he saw the girl glow. Soon, the rope around her ankles and wrists burned, freeing her from torturous binding. He couldn't help shutter when he saw her. She was a completely different person. What kind of trick was this? The golden glow around her couldn't be normal! Suddenly, a burst of flame came out of nowhere, engulfing the carriage in fire. Sadao screamed.

"YOU INSOLENT MAN. YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO DO TO ME!" The girl bellowed. But the voice.. the volume was simply not possible from her little body. Little? He watched in horror as unbelievable was happening in front of him. With a hiss, the cuts on her wrists and ankles were healed, but that was not the only thing. Slowly but definitely, the girl was growing _old_. Moments later, a full-grown, around twenty, woman was standing in front of him. He couldn't help shuttering. _W__ho was this girl? WHAT was this girl?!_

The flame roared, almost burning his skin. He hurriedly stumbled back as the girl, or the woman, was taking steps toward him. He couldn't lose like this. Whatever she was, he wasn't going without a fight. With swift movement, he got to her back and he slashed his kunai as strongly as possible.

A long line formed on her back as his kunai went. It was deep, long cut. Enjoying his victory, his lips went up. However, the girl didn't even flinch. Moreover, she turned around in lightening speed and grabbed his neck in one hand. He coughed as desperate attempts to breath.

"He was right. They were all right. Your kinds were never meant to be in my mercy. Do you hear me? If you knew the only reason that you could exist on this ground, then you would never even dream about doing this!" Her eyes narrowed. "I'm tired of forgiving. Maybe it _is _the time to show you… people…" Slowly, his body dried up and burned in flame. Few seconds later, there was nothing left of Sadao except ashes.

She looked up in the sky. The sunset was beautifully red. Bloody red...

The amber eyes staring at the sky were just like the ones of Kyuubi. Soon, there was a loud bang and she was engulfed in the flame.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" asked Kakashi. Pakkun nodded. One of the other nin-dogs was holding Rena's garb. It was a common distraction tactic. He could finally see why Rena has sent this… feather. He had no idea how she did it, but that was beside the point. The big explosion sound didn't really make him comfortable.

"There!" said Pakkun. Kakashi also could see the smoke. Hoping he's not too late, he quickened his pace.

"Oh, no…."said Kakashi. All he could see was a pile of ashes. It seemed like a carriage was there, but there was nothing else. In the midst of ash, he found Rena, not badly burnt, to Kakashi's relief. However, he stopped midair seeing the state of Rena. It wasn't bad, but she was still burnt. And the long slash on her back… Kakashi couldn't help sighing. This kind of wound will surely leave a scar. He was just hoping that the wound wasn't so bad that it would prevent her from being a shinobi.

When Kakashi gently picked up Rena, he couldn't feel any trace of chakra. He wasn't surprised, but still confused. When he couldn't feel her chakra he was confused of why. Besides, unless there was something wrong with her, there was no way that she would have been caught so easily. When wrapped a temporary bandage up in her wound, Rena stirred and opened her eyes.

"Se… Sensei?" She said faintly.

"Sorry I was too late. Your back…." Kakashi couldn't continue.

"Is it bad?"

"Big enough.. to maybe stop you from being a shinobi."

"Oh….." Rena turned her head, not meeting his eyes.

Kakashi couldn't help feeling sad for her. Somehow, she lost her chakra and was kidnapped. He could easily guess what had happened to her by her torn clothes, and a cut along her collarbone. Those kinds of experiences were never easy to forget. And to realize that she might not even be shinobi….

"Sorry, sensei."

Before he could ask why, she grabbed back of his neck, pulling him into a kiss. Surprised, he almost pushed her away when he felt his chakra slipping away. _My chakra! It__'__s being __transferred__ to Rena__'__s body!_

Kakashi could hear a hiss and a thin layer of steam coming out of her back. It was just like how Naruto healed his wounds using Kyuubi's chakra. _She__'__s using my chakra to heal herself!_ Kakashi thought.

After what seemed like an eternity, Rena roughly pushed him away, falling in his arms. "I got barely enough chakra to heal my back. It will fine…." Then Rena was out cold. Feeling relieved and awkward at the same time, Kakashi picked her up and headed to Konoha.

* * *

"So she is fine, I presume?" asked Tsunade. Shizune nodded.

"She has a minor burning, but she's recovering quickly. It's just that she's not conscious yet."

"Well, after _that_ kind of experience, it might take her a while to restore her mental health."

Tsunade already heard basically what had happened. It has been already a week. Rena's physical wounds weren't problem anymore, but it was a question if she could get over what had happened (or almost happened) to her. There was a knock on the door. Then Kakashi entered. Noticing the atmosphere,

"Good morning, Hokage-sama."

"Morning, Kakashi. How are you feeling?"

"I'm still getting over the effect of _donating_ chakra." He said jokingly. He never had the nerve to tell her exactly _how_ he donated chakra. He didn't want to.

"I assume you came for the behalf of your team member?"

"That, too. And there were something from the scene that didn't make sense."

"True. It was evident that the carriage had explosives in it. What was it for exactly? And…" Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "The man. We could find out that the headband was from Sound. Which means, he was working for Orochimaru. But it doesn't seem like he was a major in Orochimaru's scheme. Probably some kind of a delivery boy."

Kakashi nodded in response. "But the corpse. Right?"

"Exactly. His corpse is completely burnt. Completely. It's like someone has set a fire on him. We could barely tell his origin, thanks to his headband. If the fire was that bad, how come Rena's burn isn't as severe? Kakashi, are you sure she was in the middle of wreck?"

He nodded.

"Well…. We have more questions for Rena once she wakes up then."

Shizune burst into the room, excitement in her face.

"Tsunade-sama, Rena's awake…!"

BOOM!

Out of nowhere, Jiraiya appeared.

"Ji, Jiraiya?" Tsunade was definitely surprised by his visit. Jiraiya, too, looked excited.

"I have news for you, Hokage-sama." Jiraiya smiled as Tsunade frowned for calling her Hokage-sama. "I have found a hideout of Orochimaru."


	11. Decision

Hahahaha. My updates are getting later and later. I should write more often :p

* * *

When Rena finally opened her eyes, she wasn't the only one doing so. Miles and miles away, someone else has opened his eyes. He had a small smile in his face, which wasn't very usual. 

"I finally found her." The man calmly said.

The woman spun around. Even though he looked calm, she could tell that he was excited. She wondered what kind of person he had been looking for. What kind of person would get him this excited anyway?

"I'm heading out."

The woman didn't ask anything. Of course, you didn't. You never questioned him.

You never questioned Pein.

* * *

"Ugggghhh…." Rena slowly got up, resting her head in her hand. Her mind went through what had happened before she passed out. Then, streams of doubts and sadness came over her. 

_Had I been really wrong all these years?_

She still couldn't find answer to that question. She didn't want to believe that she was wrong. Even though her belief made the break-up with the one she loved dearly, she couldn't just let go of the faith she had in people. But every time she had to go through something like this, she couldn't but doubt if she was indeed right. She hoped she was. Desperately.

Groggily, she entered the house. It was dark and gloomy. Just like her mood. And her house didn't exactly cheer her up. Sighing, she was about to turn the light on when…..

"Long time no see."

Rena froze. Many, many years had passed, but she could never forget the voice. Before she could react, a swift hand grabbed both of her hands and pinned them above her head. She tried to struggle, but she wasn't still recovered well enough to fight back. Growling, she eyed the man who pinned her to the wall.

"How did you find me?" she asked in rasping voice.

"I have to say," the man said eerily calmly. "You've been most elusive since we last met."

He twisted her head sideways to reveal her ear. There were three ear rings piercing through her ears.

"Hm, so that's how it was. You used a special jutsu to contain your chakra to normal level. Impressive, and clever indeed. Thanks to this, I could never detect an individual with virtually no limit in chakra….."

Rena was just silently glaring at him, hatred in her eyes.

"..Until about a week ago, I felt an incredible amount of chakra being summoned to one place. Or should I say one person?" He made a small laugh. "It was very brief, but once I felt it, I knew who it was. I came for you, milady."

Rena flinched at her long-forgotten title. Why… Why was he here again, bringing up this useless past? The past that she dearly missed, yet knew that it couldn't come back. She tried to look at his face, but she couldn't see well because of darkness.

"Why are you here? What do you want with me?"

"Why, you, of course. I came to ask of you the same favor I had many years ago."

"Then you should know the answer." She spat out. There was no way she was going to…

"I saw what they were about to do to you a week ago."

The man saw a stream of doubt clouding her eyes. Such beautiful amber eyes. As a being out of the stream of time, this eternal beauty would soon be in his hands.

"Why do you care about them so much? Why do you fight _for _them? No matter how much you want to believe, they will be just selfish, malicious creatures. The only thing that can rule them is fear not love."

"No! You're wrong! We shouldn't interfere anymore! I made a promise to myself and…"

"Did you forget what _I _wanted, milady?" His voice suddenly changed. Rena's eyes grew in fear and denial.

"You are not him. Don't you dare play tricks on me!"

"You and I were different ever since we were born. I was born from darkness while you were from love. A lover as a mother, a companion, a friend and…."

Suddenly, his soft lips met hers. Rena's eyes widened in surprise. _They are different_, she desperately thought. _He may sound like him, but it's not him!_ A tear rolled down her cheek.

"They don't deserve the liberty of causing you so much pain, or your sympathy and mercy. Come to me, and we will give them what they truly deserve. We will let them know the new hierarchy of the world. The righteous one. Something that should have happened a long time ago. Together, we can do it." He slowly let her hands go. Rena just slid on the floor. Before long, he was gone.

As he was going back, Pein was confused by his emotional distress. After so many years…. The last time he saw her was about fourteen years ago. Seeing her with another man at that time somehow enraged him. He couldn't understand his own emotion. Did he love her? No, it was from someone else inside of him. It was the love of Sei's, not his.

But Pein couldn't forget how he was struck when he saw her again. Now he was confused if this was his own emotion or not, but he continued to believe it to be Sei's. He wanted her only as a weapon. A beautiful, yet deadly weapon.

* * *

She could hear that it started to rain. She didn't even bother to stand up to turn the light on. Only lights from lightening showed her crouched form. Rena's heart was in turmoil. She simply didn't know what to do. His appearance only made her more confused. 

It could sound ridiculous, but she still wanted to believe in people. No matter how bad they might act, she believed that there was good in people's hearts. But little by little, her belief was getting weaker. Could he be right? Could fear be the only way?

He was right: Why did she fight for them? Why did she sacrifice so much for them when they didn't prove to her that they were worthy of it? No, there were more incidents when it was clear that they didn't deserve her sacrifice. Then…. Why was she fighting….?

Her reason was telling her that he was right, but she just couldn't make her heart believe in it. She just needed one reason…. One reason why she had to fight for Konoha, and humanity.

She found herself heading to Naruto's house. _I guess I can't help it._ She smiled sadly. She remembered that the resemblance of him and his father was undeniable. Well, she knew it would be, but seeing him grown up just shocked her once again. _Seriously,_ she thought when she saw him after his return from training with Jiraiya. _He should have gotten something from his mom, just for her sake._

* * *

"Eh?" Naruto looked outside. The rain was definitely getting heavier. He hurriedly closed the window, but not early enough to let in some rain. 

"Damn!" He groaned, brushing off some water from his hair. When he turned to window to close the curtain, he couldn't help screaming. Rena was standing there, drenched…. And… Tears?

Naruto ran to the door and opened it. She merely turned around and stared at him. Even though she was drenched, it was clear that she was crying. Naruto stood there, not knowing what to do. Moments later, he figured that at least he should let her dry herself in his house. He took hesitant steps toward her when…

Dumbfounded, Naruto stood there, more surprised than ever. Rena just tightened her grip around him. He could hear her sob. He did hear about her being kidnapped, but he didn't know exactly what had happened. He was just reported that she had _unfortunate incident._

"Uhhhh, Rena-chan." Naruto awkwardly grabbed her shoulders to push her away a bit. Then he heard some kind of name that she whispered.

"...to……"

"Eh? Did you call me? I couldn't hear you."

Rena just shook her head. Sighing, Naruto took her into the house.

"Here." Rena looked up, finding a mug of hot coco in Naruto's hand. "You must be freezing. This will warm you up." He bluntly said, looking sideway. When she saw what he was doing, she let out a small laugh. Both of them… were SO not good at showing their emotions.

"Thanks…." She whispered. Naruto just shrugged and turned around.

"Naruto." He stopped. She was staring at the hot coco. "Why do you fight?"

"Eh?"

"No matter how many times you fight, or how many people you bring to justice, there's always going to be someone bad. Then… What's the point of trying to get them anyway?"

Naruto stood there, speechless. Something really bad must have happened to make her say things like this. He just glared at her angrily.

"Why are you asking a stupid question like that?!"

"Eh?" Rena stared at him blankly, confused.

"I don't care about those craps about bringing people to justice. I'm fighting because I care about Konoha and people in here. Old man (3rd Hokage) did the same and so did 4th. I'm not going to let them die in vain."

Rena silently looked at him. Then, suddenly, she realized. _He got the stubbornness,_ she thought. _He got the ability to believe into something strongly no matter how bad the situation might be_. She smiled a little. Well, she had no intention of changing her mind then. It's been way too long to change it and she was going to stick with it. No matter what.

Sure, there were people who were worthless, but she also knew that not everyone was. There were people who she had cared about, and still cared about. For them, she wouldn't even hesitate sacrificing her own life.

Once she set up her mind, she couldn't feel more relieved. Happily, she finished the hot coco and stood up.

"Thanks, Naruto. It made me feel a lot better."

"EH?! You're dried already?" He couldn't believe it. She was drenched! And after five minutes, she looked like she's never been in the rain in the first place. Rena just smiled and waved her hand.

* * *

"So… have you made your decision?" Rena turned around, finding Pein again in her house. 

She was surprised to see his face. The last time she saw him… was… a long time ago. She was glad to find that he changed his appearance. If he still looked like Sei, then she didn't know if she had the heart to look at him.

"Sh….." A hand was pressed on her mouth. His dark eyes gazed upon her. "Call me Pein. As now you are Mizuho Rena, I'm a different…. person."

"Well, _Pein._ I'm here to tell you to back off."

"WHAT?!" Pein stood up. Anger and hatred in his eyes, he made a bold step toward her.

"Don't. Come. Near. Me." He stopped. She had few seals in her body, but he had to admit that if she wanted, she could destroy this entire world in seconds. She was the one who wasn't shackled to _limitation_.

"But why? How long would it take for you to change your mind?"

"Never." She calmly answered. As she did, she thought of Naruto. His pure belief in Konoha and the people even cleared her doubts and made her realize why she wanted to believe in this world.

"I always had to change a lot of my personality to hide my identity," Rena explained, "but I guess I can never change my stubbornness."

"You are willing to fight _me_ to protect those vermin?" He spat out in disgust.

"Our age is over. It's time to hand over the world to them. And I will always be watching. Just like a mother would."

"Hah, like that is going to happen."

Rena's eyes narrowed. When she spoke again, he couldn't help thinking how a fourteen year old girl could have that kind of tone and authority. Well, if she _was_ a normal fourteen year old girl.

"If you lay a hand on Konoha or anyone from this village, I will do everything in my power to stop and destroy you. Consider this as a warning."

Pein made a small smile. Yes, she was strong. Much stronger than him. But he had a special present that would surprise her. He was relieved that he didn't wear his normal cloak. If he did, it would have given away his true ambition and that was something that Pein couldn't afford.

"Very well. I was hoping that things wouldn't go this way, milady." He slowly turned. "But consider this as a warning as well. _I _won't be just sitting around and waiting for you to destroy me. I have a goal of my own, and I won't stop at anything."

Rena just looked at him and didn't answer. Slowly, he disappeared into the thin air.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Pein."


	12. Breaking Away

GAH!!! So slow!!! i hate it when i know everything of the story but i have to WRITE IT DOWN. god, i wanna move the pace.. but i kinda don't want to at the same time :p

* * *

Rena woke up with a splitting headache. This was another reason she hated _the week._ Not only she lost all of her chakra for a week, she also sometimes had a side effect, something she liked to call_ hangover_. This time, it was worse because she had to get chakra from someone else in an… unusual way. This was the option she would rather not take. The other one was impossible. For her, at least.

She slowly got up from the bed and opened up the curtain. The beautiful sunlight shined through the window. Today seemed so much better than last night. A surprise visit from Pain was sure a shock to her. She couldn't honestly say that her inner turmoil was over, but she felt so much better after taking a side. The right side.

Stretching her arms, Rena lazily headed to kitchen for breakfast. She couldn't see the new Team 7 heading out of Konoha.

Few minutes ago

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Tsunade asked worriedly. The man just smiled and nodded. "I'm sorry about this. But since Naruto's involved, your special ability will come handy."

"Don't worry, Hokage-sama. I understand the situation perfectly."

Tsunade looked at the ANBU. Her worry wasn't completely gone yet. Sending one of Orochimaru's experiments back to Orochimaru wasn't something that she was willing to do lightly. But since Jiraiya and Kakashi were out of options, she had no choice but to call _him_.

"All right. For this mission, you will be called Yamato."

"Understood."

As she saw him go, Tsunade dearly wished that nothing would go out of control.

* * *

"Eh?" Rena looked out the window, feeling somewhat empty all of sudden. Slightly annoyed, she headed to Tsunade.

"Mission?" asked Rena. Tsunade eyed the girl carefully. She had no idea how Rena found out Naruto going to the mission so quickly, but it wasn't something to be hidden.

"Yes. You and Kakashi weren't fully recovered so I recruited two new members and the new team headed to Grass Village."

"Grass?"

Tsunade stopped for a moment. Was it safe enough to tell her about Sasuke and Orochimaru? She didn't know if Rena knew or not. Then it was better not to risk it.

"It's a typical C-Rank Mission. A guarding mission."

"Hm, I see." Luckily, Rena didn't press it. "Well, I will head off. Do you know when they're going to be back?"

Tsunade just shrugged. "Depends on how fast they are."

Her eyes grew narrow. "Tsunade-sama. Nothing bad will happen, right?"

Tsunade didn' say anything. Jiraiya's information about Orochimaru's hideout, the new Team 7 heading out with Yamato flashed in front of her eyes. She knew perfectly what they were getting into. But she just shook her head.

"They won't get in any trouble."

* * *

Suddenly having nothing to do, Rena just wandered around the village. The village was crowded and busy as ever. Remembering old days, she couldn't help smiling. '_It didn__'__t change at all', _she thought.

BUMP

Rena bumped into someone while lost in thoughts. Groceries rolled out of the back.

"I'm sorry!"

At familiar voice, Rena raised her head. She saw a surprised Hyuuga girl. Rena quickly stood up and helped her gather the groceries.

"Don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing. I was lost in thoughts." She glanced at the grocery bags. There were a lot of them. Maybe too many for a girl like Hinata to carry.

"You know, I could help you carry those bags."

Hinata quickly shook her head. "Oh, no. I couldn't possibly…" But Rena already picked up some of the bags.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Where do you live?"

"Well….."

So, Rena was in Hyuuga's house. It was big. That was the word. The garden was very well taken care of. Glancing around, Rena was surprised how the house didn't change at all. But then, none of the Hyuugas really changed.

"Ah, Father." Rena turned around to find Hyuuga Hiashi. Rena froze a little bit. Meeting a new person, especially adults, was somewhat uncomfortable to her. Because they could….

"Hinata, who is this young lady?"

Rena put down her grocery bags and bowed her head. "My name is Mizuho Rena. I'm a member of Team Kakashi. Well… was."

Hiashi watched the girl carefully. He had already heard about her impressive jutsu. He could feel the great potential lying under her skin. Also, her perfect manner, and the fact that she wasn't intimidated by one of the most powerful man in Konoha village impressed him. But….

Before long, Rena was holding two kunais in her hands, blocking all the shurikens heading to her and Hinata. Hinata seemed shocked, but from different reason.

"Father! You didn't have to…!"

"Hyuuga-sama. Is this how Hyuuga clan greets its guest?"

Hiashi couldn't help being impressed. Not only she blocked the surprised attack, but she figured out that it was merely a test, not an intruder. He slightly bowed his head.

"Forgive me. You are in the main house of Hyuuga. I can't help being cautious to newcomers."

"Apology accepted."

Hinata looked at the two nervously. She never expected her father to such a thing to her guest! Of course, this was an effective test to loyalty. If Rena was an assassin sent to kill Hyuugas, she would just let the shurikens alone. But Hinata already knew about this, so she would easily block them.

_'Neji__ was right', _Hiashi thought. This girl is something. There was something different about her. Some kind of aura was very different for this girl. It would be interesting to see her grow.

"Wait here. I will get you some tea." Hinata hurriedly went to the kitchen.

"Rena-san?" Rena turned around to find Neji.

"Neji? What are you doing here?"

"I'd like to ask the same question." Neji slightly frowned as he saw the kunais in her hands. She quickly put them back.

"Hinata invited me here."

"Hinata-sama?" Neji raised his eyebrow. Sure, Hinata did get a lot more _outgoing_ than couple years ago, but he didn't know she would actually invite someone to her house. Neji just shrugged. Maybe it was for the better.

"Ah, Neji-san," said Hinata, holding a tray of tea pot and cups.

"Hinata-sama, it's time for your training." Hinata blushed a little. This was the part of reason why she didn't want Rena home. Sure, she was a nice girl and Hinata didn't mind Rena coming to her house, but not just during the sparring time.

Rena took the tray from Hinata's hand. She just smiled and said, "Go on. I will be here with your dad."

Hinata just nodded and headed to the ground.

Hinata was panting somewhat heavily. She couldn't concentrate much with Rena _and_ her father watching. It was just too much. She was just too afraid to mess up in front of them.

Rena could hear Hiashi growl silently. Apprently, he wasn't happy with how Hinata was doing. Frankly, Rena wasn't either, but for a different reason. She stood up and went to Hinata.

"What's wrong?"

Hinata didn't say anything, looking away.

"Look. You don't have to worry about a thing. Your brain is restricting your body with your fear. You have relax and let your body do its own thing."

Hinata didn't seem convinced. Rena just smiled and stood facing Neji.

"Mind if I spar with you for a moment?"

Neji was surprised, but not in a bad way. He just nodded. Rena untied the ribbon around her hair, letting the flowing red hair. Then she tied the ribbon around her eyes. Hinata was shocked at what she was doing.

"Re, Rena-san. Are you going to…"

"Sight is one of the most commonly used senses that brain uses. Especially for you Hyuuga clans. If you block the sight and let the body feel and move in its own accord, you will be surprised how good it is despite what you think." Rena turned to Neji. "Shall we begin?"

Neji was surprised as well, but he didn't care. This was just a spar after all. He would just have to be more careful not to hit her too hard.

His worries proved false as soon as he started sparring. Even without her vision, she blocked his attacks perfectly. She wasn't analyzing the situation, but rather feel how his body was moving and anticipate his moves and block it. He was surprised how she could fight so well like that. Moments later, Rena raised her hands as a signal to stop. She untied the ribbon and turned to Hinata.

"See? You're being too tense. That will restrict your muscle and you won't be able to move as fast as you actually can." Rena put her hands on Hinata's shoulder. A warmth traveled in Hinata's vein from head to toe. This strange feeling somehow made her more confident.

"Don't be afraid. Believe in yourself and you will find the way. You will be a great kunoichi. Trust me. And yourself." Rena winked and resumed her seat beside Hiashi.

Hinata stood there, confused. Was what Rena has said true? She didn't exactly know. But something Rena did made her want to believe. That she wasn't a failure like everyone in the family thought. That she actually could be a great shinobi one day. She made a decision. She won't be afraid anymore. She will try hard and never give up until she achieved what she wanted. That was her way of ninja.

Hinata turned toward Neji and made a stance. From that moment, Neji could see something was different. Hinata didn't seem like she was being chased or pressured. She looked like a free person who believed in herself and her ability. Neji smiled. He didn't know what kind of trick Rena pulled, but this was definitely going to be an interesting spar.

Hiashi couldn't believe his eyes. Seeing Rena sparring equally with Neji with eyes closed was one thing, but Hinata's dramatic improvement was certainly something. She was blocking every Neji's attack and even managed to attack him few times. He didn't know his daughter could be this….

"Are you surprised?" Hiashi turned his gaze to Rena. She was still watching the spar which was lasting very long now. "All Hinata needs is a confidence. Don't give her pressures. She might be late, but once she blooms, no one will be able to match her."

Hiashi didn't say anything. If someone else just said that, he would just ignore it. But Rena had strange power to make people believe in her. And Hinata's improvement was just so big to ignore. Hiashi turned to the sparring ground again to see his daughter. His new, changed daughter.

"Thank you, Rena."

* * *

"Oi, sensei." Kakashi lazily opened his eyes when he heard the familiar voice. He found his student, grinning in a mischievous way.

"Ah, lying in the bed like this just because I took some of your chakra… you must be getting old."

"You don't look too well yourself." Kakashi answered.

"Hehe, I have something that feels like hangover."

"Really? I assume you have had some alcohol before?"

"Ha, of cou…..?" Rena stopped, gazing at Kakashi teasingly. "Ah, I see you're trying to make me spill the beans. Oh well. Once, I drank the whole bottle of Sake without knowing. Horrible hangover afterward."

"How could you do that? I mean, you should know it immediately by taste." Kakashi scoffed.

"I was really thirsty!" Rena said defensively. "I thought it was water bottle, so I drank it without even thinking. When I realized what I drank, it was too late!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Kakashi groggily stood up. When he took few steps, he had an unusual sensation. Around his face. His _lower_ part of face.

Kakashi quickly turned around, seeing Rena holding a small black fabric. "Looking for this?"

"You…!" Kakashi tried to grab his mask, but Rena was faster. Having been awake for longer than he had been, Rena was more agile than Kakashi.

"Rena. Give. It. Back. To. Me," said Kakashi, trying to be calm. No one has ever taken his mask. No one. She must have taken it when he was sleeping.

"What are you trying to run away from?" asked Rena, her deep amber eyes gazing his own.

"I'm not trying to…."

"Are you still ashamed of something that you didn't do?"

"I'm not…..!" Kakashi's mind flew to the past. How his father failed a mission to save his friends…. How villagers hated his father and him for it….. He could remember…. The contempt look he got wherever he went, a hostile treatment he always received, a dirty whispering that he could hear…… He started wearing mask to hide who he was. Of course, people still knew, but it made him feel better. To hide in the shadow. To get away from the hatred.

He thought he had forgotten about it, but he didn't. The scars that was made from the past still existed deep in his heart. Remembering how it had hurt, how lonely he had been, Kakashi couldn't help falling, knees on the ground. A tear rolled down his cheek without his realizing.

Rena let go of the mask and kneeled down in front of him. Her eyes too were in tears. Without saying anything, she hugged him tightly.

"You don't have to hide it anymore. You don't have to run away with your mask. If you're hurt, or having a hard time, you can just tell me. Don't ever try to keep it to yourself."

Kakashi just leaned his head against her shoulder. This feeling of someone by his side comforted him. Just like…..

A flash of image crossed his mind with a sharp pain. Kakashi held his head with his hand. _'__What was that__?'_ he thought. The images continued to his childhood. His sensei, his teammates… and….

"Ugh…." Kakashi couldn't help grunting when another pain shot through his head. When it was gone, he saw Rena looking at him with sad eyes.

"It's coming back… isn't it?"

"What?" asked Kakashi, not sure what he had heard. Rena just smiled sadly. She stood up and headed to the window.

"Sorry about this whole fuss. But I'm taking this. You won't need it anymore." With his mask, she was gone. Kakashi just smiled. He never thought he would get a lecture from fourteen-year-old girl. But… Oh well… Sometimes, students can be teachers too.

He thought of the images he saw. Why did they appear out of nowhere? And why did he feel like there was something missing? What was missing?

Shaking his head, he stood up to see a beautiful sky. It was a brand new day. It would be a brand new life for him now.


	13. Old Friend

Few uneventful days have passed. No, there _was _a small surprise in Konoha. Actually, a big one.

"Huh? Ka, Kakashi?" Tsunade stammered, not believing her eyes. There stood Kakashi without his mask. Tsunade couldn't believe that she would live a day to see this.

"Hello, Hokage-sama." Kakashi greeted rather sheepishly. Unlike many rumors, there was nothing wrong with his face. Actually, he looked rather handsome without his mask. He still lowered his headband to cover his left eye, but the disappearance of his mask shocked the entire village. Except Rena, of course.

But days have passed and people finally got used to it. Well, at least, they didn't gasp whenever Kakashi walked by. Kakashi felt odd sensation of freedom. The fact that he didn't have to worry about people's gossip anymore somewhat eased him. Of course, people stopped talking about his father and him a long time ago, but the memory was still seared into his mind.

"Heh, Kakashi-sensei!" He couldn't help smiling when he heard the familiar voice. Rena was standing behind him.

"I see you don't wear your mask anymore." She said with a big smile.

Kakashi just smiled in return. He couldn't believe what a change this girl brought in his life. He wasn't still sure if he would like it in the future, but for now, he was enjoying it and content about it.

"How are you doing?" asked Kakashi.

"Eh, boring. I just finished shopping."

Kakashi glanced at the grocery bags. There were a lot, a lot of tangerines. As much as he liked tangerines, he couldn't help thinking it was a bit too many.

"You sure do like tangerine."

Rena just laughed. "Yeah, I don't like fruits, but somehow I can't get enough tangerines." Rena peeled off one of the tangerines and gave him a piece. "Want one?"

Kakashi just stared at it blankly. When was the last time he even ate tangerine? But he didn't say anything and just ate one. The citrus taste prickled his dull tongue but not in a bad way. Seeing him eating the piece, Rena smiled and threw the entire tangerine at him. Reflexively, he caught it.

"There. My present for your new fashion trend." She winked and she was gone.

Kakashi looked at the tangerine and smiled. Slowly, he walked away.

* * *

"What do you mean, he's gone?!" Naruto asked his new Team Leader angrily. Yamato didn't know what to say. No, he knew exactly what to say, but he couldn't believe that he actually let this happen.

"When I saw Kabuto and Orochimaru, I was about to sneak closer to them, when a smoke surrounded the area. When it was gone, Kabuto, Orochimaru _and_ Sai was gone."

Yamato knew that the smoke was from Sai's special artistic jutsu; a type of gen-jutsu that created anything from his art. When he realized what Sai had done, it was too late. He gritted his teeth. Tsunade already had warned him to keep an eye for Sai since he _was_ from the Root. He thought he was doing what Hokage asked, but it turned out that he didn't.

"I knew he was suspicious! We should have left him in Konoha." Naruto groaned. Getting so close to Sasuke seemed like a vague hope now. They were so close. So close to get to Sasuke. And that new member, Sai had to ruin everything!

Naruto never liked the new member ever since he entered the team. Neither did Sakura. How he trash-talked Sasuke wasn't acceptable to her. Yamato did his best to bring the team together, but it was a miracle to pass a day without holding onto Naruto from smacking Sai. (Even though he failed to catch it when Sakura hit Sai.)

Sakura wasn't saying anything. She was way too shocked and despaired to even lift a finger. After all this work, when they thought they finally got a lead, everything was gone.

"Well, I have to say everything didn't go exactly according to plan," said Yamato, standing up. "But I've already prepared something just in case."

Naruto and Sakura looked up in hope. Yamato made a small smiled. "I've already made some shadow clones around the area in case something happened. One of them got the track of them.

"That means…." Naruto stood up, already excited.

"Yeah. We didn't lose them yet."

* * *

"Kabuto, did you notice it as well?" asked Orochimaru calmly. The silver haired boy's eyes grew narrow, glancing at Sai. Kabuto didn't trust the new guy. He didn't know what Sai had to gain Orochimaru's trust, but he wasn't going to let his guard down so easily.

Noticing his subordinate's uneasiness, Orochimaru whispered. "Why don't you make a fake dead body of that boy? At least, we will lose the tracker. Then we can take care of the boy."

Kabuto nodded. For now, that seemed to be the best way.

"Hm?" Yamato's bunshin stopped, finding something that he didn't expect. It was the dead body of Sai!

"Oh, no." He quickly let down the body, inspecting it. _'Could it be too late for us?'_ He nervously thought. When he was about to lose hope, he found a little scissor marks on Sai's neck. Quickly, he examined the line between Sai's chin and neck.

There it was. Barely visible, but there was a line between chin and neck, which meant the dead body was fake. But thanks to this, he has lost the trace of Sai and Orochimaru. But he knew Yamato, Naruto, and Sakura should know this. He undid the bunshin.

Yamato flinched all of sudden.

"What is wrong?" asked Sakura, noticing his change.

"My bunshin was just undone."

"Does that mean he found something?" Naruto asked anxiously, already quickening paces.

"Well, sorta." He answered. "He found the fake dead body of Sai."

"!!" Naruto and Sakura looked at Yamato, surprised.

"My bunshin managed to figure out that it was fake, but he lost the trace of them."

Naruto groaned in frustration. Then he made a seal and shouted, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"

About 50 Kage Bunshins appeared out of nowhere.

"Find Orochimaru, got it?" Bunshins nodded and scattered.

"Let's go see Sai's body first." Sakura suggested. "In case… it's not… it's not…"

"Got it, Sakura," said Yamato, saving her from saying the worst case scenario.

* * *

"Hm…." Sakura examined the body carefully. Naruto fidgeted nervously.

"Naruto! Hold still!" He stopped abruptly at Sakura's shout. Sakura looked at the line between chin and the neck.

"Your bunshin was right." Sakura finally said after a long pause. " This is someone else's body around Sai's age. They must have made a fake mask made out of skin to put it over the corpse's face and sewed it. If your bunshin hadn't found this line, we wouldn't have noticed it at all."

"So… Sai's still with them?" asked Naruto. Sakura nodded.

Naruto suddenly stopped. Sakura and Yamato looked at him curiously. He looked at them back in surprise and excitement.

"They found it. One of my bunshins…. It found Orochimaru's hideout."

* * *

"What do you think?" Sakura asked cautiously. Yamato just nodded. Both Naruto and Sakura tensed. They had no idea what awaited them.

Fast, but quietly, three of them approached the door. They were surprised when the door was suddenly opened. There stood a person that three of them came after.

"Sasuke…." Sakura murmured.

Sasuke was wearing white Japanese top with black bottom. He was also wearing a purple rope around his waist just like Orochimaru. He looked rather indifferent to his old friends. Actually, he looked annoyed by them.

"Why are you here? Haven't I made myself clear two years ago?" said Sasuke. He turned his gaze to Naruto. "Especially to you. But then, it was too much to ask for dobe like you."

"Grrrr, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted and charged in with the fist. Sasuke easily dodged it and planted a fist in Naruto's stomach, knocking the air out of him.

"Naruto!" shouted Sakura and Yamato. He was thinking hard right now. It was essential that they didn't get caught before they got the hold of their supposedly traitor, Sai. But since their main object, Sasuke, was here, the fight was inevitable. The situation wasn't good. There was no way out to get out of this place quietly.

"Such troublesome meddlers," growled Sasuke. "Maybe Orochimaru _was_ right. It might be better just to wipe out Konoha off the map to stop you people."

Yamato's eyes grew narrow at Sasuke's comment. He had heard about Rena's mission and her discovery of possible invasion of Oto (Sound). What Sasuke just said confirmed that Rena's information was true. This could be a valuable discovery.

"I told you earlier." Naruto said, still hanging in the air with Sasuke's fist in his stomach. "I will break your arms and legs to bring you back!"

"Hm. And _I_ let you live at my whim. But today…" He pulled out his katana. "You are going to die. All at a whim of mine."

"Naruto!"

"Hm," Sasuke murmured to Sai. "Your choice of defense. Quite correct indeed."

Sai, holding Sasuke's wrist in midair, didn't say anything. Nor did Sasuke. '_He was the one who blabbered about the importance of the bonds,'_ thought Sasuke. This guy didn't understand. None of them did. None of them knew what kinds of responsibility Uchiha Sasuke had to bear. Those weaklings who couldn't help him get stronger were only hindrance to him.

"S, Sai? But I thought you were a traitor!" shouted Sakura.

"Indeed. My secret mission was to assassinate Uchiha Sasuke on the way to the mission with Team Kakashi. But watching you guys made me change my mind. I want to take Sasuke-kun with you so that he could experience what I couldn't. I don't understand the bonds that Naruto and Sakura-kun were talking about." Sai calmly stated. "But their behavior is waking up something from me inside. I want to know what it is, and I want you to not lose the bonds that you once shared."

Sasuke merely frowned at Sai's comment. He was about to attack him when,

"Back off." The low voice interrupted. Sasuke wasn't the only one who stopped. Sai, Sakura and Yamato all looked at Naruto. He was thrown to the side by Sasuke when he was dealing with Sai. To Yamato's fear, Naruto was covered in red chakra with three tails forming. When he raised his head, everyone could see the red kyuubi eyes glaring at them with hatred.

"_He is mine_."

* * *

A tangerine dropped and rolled on the floor. Rena's eyes were fixed with pain and horror. _'This feeling….' _She thought. _'Could it be?'_ The last time she felt this was about a year ago. She barely had time to save Jiraiya at that time, not that he remembered. She was hoping that this kind of thing wouldn't happen again. Hoping that the worst isn't coming, she hurriedly stormed out of Uchiha mansion.

'_This is bad'_ thought Yamato. He had already heard about Naruto's special condition. He alone had the ability to surpress Kyuubi's chakra, but since it was coming out at alarmingly fast rate, he could be too late.

"Na… Naruto…." Sakura took a few steps back. She has never seen him like this before and it frankly frightened her. Such malice and hatred in his eyes wasn't right for him.

Fourth tail was already forming. Yamato hurriedly made seals to bring him down but it was too late. His entire body was covered in blackish red chakra, and no one could see him anymore. To everyone, Naruto has become a monster.

"Saaaassssuuuukkkeeeee…" Naruto growled. Sasuke also was taken aback a bit, but it didn't stop him from fighting his old friend. In fact, he already knew about Kyuubi's presence in Naruto from Orochimaru and he had fought him with Kyuubi's broken seal once. However, he never imagined that Kyuubi's chakra would be this strong.

The fierce battle continued for seconds, minutes, and almost an hour. Yamato made a various attempt to stop Naruto in order to surpress Kyuubi's chakra, but his every attack was countered by Kyuubi.

"Naruto! Please stop!" Sakura shouted, unable to bear to watch. Naruto, or whatever it was, turned his gaze on her. Apparently, it didn't notice who she was. Without any warning, he charged at her in an incredible speed. Sakura, helpless, screamed, ready to die by her closest friend.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. She should have been hit by now, but she didn't feel anything. She could see the shadow of someone's back.

"Sorry I was late. Are you okay?" A familiar voice snapped Sakura out of her daze.

Rena was standing in front of Sakura holding Naruto.


	14. Broken Seal

"Re.. Rena?" asked Sakura, still confused about what's going on. Then a thought crossed her mind. Rena has taken a full blast of chakra from Kyuubi! Sakura hurriedly stood up.

Rena slowly lowered her arms that were blocking her face. This was bad. Worse than she thought. She could already see a fifth tail forming. She glanced at her injured arms. Even with the protective seals, Kyuubi has grown way too powerful to break through that. Rena sadly smiled. There was only one way to stop him.

"Sakura! Sai! Yamato!" Three of them gazed at Rena when their names were called. "I'm the only one who can stop him. But I need some cover. Try to stop him no matter what. He can't afford to destroy any more than he already had."

"Understood!" They answered, finally feeling like the situation is getting under control.

"HHHHHAAAAA!!!" Sakura charged and punched the ground that Naruto was standing on. In a matter of second, the whole ground crumbled beneath him. He quickly jumped over to the nearby safe area.

'_So Sakura did get stronger'_ thought Sasuke. Somehow, it turned to a battle among the team members, but he couldn't care less. Actually, it was a great time to leave.

"Oh, you're not leaving, are you?"

When Sasuke spun around in surprise, it was too late. As if being anticipated, Sasuke was hit by a powerful punch. Even with Sharingan, he barely had the time to just twist his head so that the punch couldn't smash his jaw. He was flown to the nearest tree, breaking it. Sasuke coughed out the blood from his mouth.

"Unseal complete."

When they heard Rena's voice, Team Kakashi looked at Rena. As chaotic the situation was, they couldn't help standing there for couple seconds with their mouths open.

"What the heck happened?!" Sakura shouted, pointing Rena.

It looked as if she has grown about ten years. She was a full grown woman of age about mid twenty. What in the world could have happened to her?

Then Sakura noticed something else. Her eyes… They weren't yellow anymore. They were green and it looked like as if they were…..

Before she could see it properly, their attentions came back to Naruto. Finding a new prey, he gazed at Rena carefully. Then suddenly he made a giant ball of chakra.

'_Such amount of chakra!'_ thought Yamato. _'What is he planning to do with it?'_

Naruto opened his mouth and all those chakra was sucked into him. Now he looked like a giant fur ball. Then without any hesitation, Naruto let out the chakra to Rena.

She didn't even bother to dodge the attack toward her. When the chakra ball hit her, Team Kakashi couldn't even see anything.

'_What kind of battle is this?'_ Sakura thought. _'This isn't normal battle!'_

When the smoke was finally gone, they could see a whirling red chakra. Yamato was the one first one who figured out what had happened. Rena wasn't trying to dodge or counterattack it. She simply manipulated the chakra and controlling it! Such rare talent wasn't even deemed to be possible.

The creation of the seals and nin-jutsu was so that people could control their chakra more easily and effectively. People who could control other's chakra without seals were rare or none at all. To see someone who could actually do that was truly something.

Rena simply dissipated Kyuubi's chakra around her. Her eyes were filled with coldness and anger. Naruto stopped and stood still.

"I will have a word with you, Kyuubi."

Before he even noticed, Rena was in the sewer. She could see the red chakra from the prison cell engulfing Naruto. When she walked a bit closer, an eye appeared. A big, menacing eye that watched her carefully.

"_You… You are the one who just blocked my attack…. Such manipulation of chakra… That kind of talent was only seen by one…."_

"Cut the crap, Kyuubi. You should well know who I am." Rena said curtly.

"_Hoohoo, and I see your manner hasn't changed at all. Even though how many identities you might have around the people, you can't hide from me."_

"Put him down. You went too far this time."

"_Ah, such care. I wish I could have had that from you."_

Rena merely smirked. "Oh, really? After what you have done to them? I don't think so."

"……_It wasn't me."_

She frowned, hatred in her eyes. "How can you say that? I saw you on that night! You destroyed everything I loved! Don't you even dare to be forgiven!"

"_If that's what you want to think, I won't stop you. But know that not everything is what they seem."_

She gritted her teeth. She always hated the way he talked. It sounded like an enigma, or double-meaning words. He sounded like he was hiding something, but she could never prove it.

"About Naruto…" Rena started. "I will really appreciate it if you let him go. NOW."

"_Che, gentle words with such fierce tone. I guess I can't help it."_ Kyuubi's red chakra started to going back into the prison cell, leaving Naruto on the ground.

"Naruto!" Rena quickly came to aid him. She quickly healed his flesh that was badly burnt. And when she finished healing, not only Naruto was fine, he had a small seal on his forehead. Kyuubi growled his frustration.

"_That seal….."_

"With this, you won't be able to take over Naruto's consciousness any longer, no matter how much your chakra is mingled with his. And…" Rena walked to the prison cell door and touched it with her palm. The hissing sound came with a steam.

Kyuubi growled in anger. _"What do you think you're doing?"_

"I'm making Minato's seal stronger."

"_YOU WOULDN'T DARE!"_

"Oh, yes, I would." Rena pressed her hand even more. The hissing increased and so did the steam. Rena frowned a bit in pain.

"Che, this pain is worth for what I'm doing." Rena bit her lips.

"_Why do you care so much about this child? Surely, you should hate him since _I _am inside of him."_

Rena lowered her gaze. She added in a sad voice, "You don't know anything."

"_What?"_

"You don't know the whole story. But then.. no one does. People die and their memories die with them. Or as long as they live, they will always let their memories go. But I won't let it go. I can't. Because..." The seal completed. "I'm the Memory Keeper."

Rena's consciousness snapped back to the present. Naruto was sleeping on her labs.

"Rena!" She turned her head to Sakura and Yamato. Sakura still seemed to be awkward about Rena's new body. Rena just smiled. She knew this was a risky move. She will never be able to go back to the teenage body. Oh well, she had to take it in order to endure Kyuubi's chakra. Otherwise, her body would have been burnt when she got a direct attack.

"What… what happened to Sasuke?" Sakura just shook her head at Rena's question. He must have left when she was with Kyuubi. Rena sighed. They looked for him for so long and when they finally found him, he just…

"Rena. There's something I need to tell you and Hokage-sama." Rena turned around to see Yamato.

"The information you acquired during the last mission has been confirmed. Orochimaru indeed has been scheming to invade Konoha. We have to let Hokage-sama know as soon as possible."

Rena nodded. At least, they had some kind of achievement.

* * *

"I see…" said Tsunade, looking at Team Kakashi.. and Rena.

"Team Kakashi, you deserve a rest. Take a break for now." Noticing Tsunade's intention, Team Kakashi scattered, except Rena.

"I figured that you would like to talk to me."

Tsunade just stared at the girl, or woman now. Rena did grow about ten years suddenly. It was an impossible deed. It wasn't just appearance that she grew. The amount of her chakra nearly doubled as well. What the heck happened to her?

"How… how old are you?" Tsunade finally chose her question.

Rena just shrugged. "Maybe older than you are?"

Tsunade watched her carefully, noticing how Rena saw through her jutsu. Rena wasn't a normal person, that was for sure.

"What is your purpose here?"

"….." Rena didn't say anything for a long time. Why was she here? How could she answer that question. It wasn't a one-word answer like Tsunade expected. After a long thought, she said,

"To protect fire-seed in our heart. That's why I'm here."

Tsunade just smiled. She couldn't help thinking about 3rd Hokage. To protect fire-seed eh? Oh, what the heck. She didn't want to care about this. Actually, Tsunade came to grow liking to this girl. She raised her hand as a sign of dismissal.

* * *

"Huh?" Rena raised her head when she felt someone was there. She could see the beautiful sky up above and entire Konoha below. This hill was her favorite place in Konoha. It used to be _their_ favorite place….

"Oi." A familiar voice called. She turned around to see Kakashi standing there. He too was a bit surprised to see grown up Rena. Of course, he could tell it was Rena but she looked more mature and thoughtful. Was that only from appearance or has she grown inside somehow?

Rena gazed at the village without saying anything. There was no way for Kakashi to know what she was thinking. No, he didn't even know who she was now. He thought that she was just extremely rare case of mature teenager but sometimes he did think that Rena was more than what it seemed. But to see her like this confused him even more.

He could see the beautiful sunset from this place. Then he remembered something.

"You know, this used to be my sensei's favorite place." Kakashi finally broke the long silence.

"Your sensei?" Rena turned around, pulling back her loose hair. Her red hair and amber eyes oddly matched with the sunset. Gazing her deep eyes, suddenly an image came across his mind.

It was his sensei with him, Obito, and Rin. They used to come here all the time since Sensei loved here so much. But that was not it. He couldn't see, but he couldn't help feeling that there was more. Then he saw it. Someone. Someone was standing beside Sensei. Someone with big smile just like….

"Sensei? Sensei?" Kakashi snapped out of his daydream. He wondered what it could mean. Why was he having so many daydreams all of sudden? And when he was around Rena? He just shook his head. And then he thought of something. Something that needed to be fixed. Now.

"By the way, I'm not your sensei anymore." Rena's wide eyes with confusion met his. He couldn't help thinking that she looked exactly like Naruto when she did that. "Tsunade announced that you will be jounin from today. So you're officially out of Team Kakashi. You will be handling with A-Rank mission or higher and you will be teamed up with other jounins."

Rena lazily nodded. Kakashi just invited himself and sat beside Rena. She didn't seem to care anyway. Together, they watched the sunset.

Soon the sky became dark blue and they could see couple stars already. Some store began to turn on the lights and the village was covered with little colorful lights.

"I like this village. I've always had." Rena whispered to him. At her remark, Kakashi smiled.

"I like here too. That's why I became shinobi. To protect this village."

Rena buried her head in her arms. She had her knees up on her chest, so he was impossible to see her face. Then he noticed that she was trembling.

"I want to protect this village. Everything and everyone. I don't want to see anyone suffer anymore. But I've failed. I've failed so many times. I'm scared now. What if I mess up again?"

Kakashi didn't say anything. He didn't exactly know what she was talking about, but he knew that she was having a hard time right now. Slowly, he put his hand around her shoulder. She seemed to be surprised a little. She raised her head, revealing teary eyes. Somehow, seeing her vulnerable like this gave Kakashi a pang in his heart. He brushed off some of her tears with his left hand.

"Don't ever think you're alone. If there is a danger in this village, you won't be the only one. We will all help. And we will all protect those that are dear to us."

Rena nodded her head, still crying. They stayed there like that for a long time. Until darkness fell onto them, erasing them from their painful past.


	15. Orochimaru's plan

Writer's block!!!!! gggrrr, i don't like it:(

* * *

An uneventful month has passed. Konoha was finally getting used to Rena's sudden growth. First, Kakashi's mask gone, now this, people would think. However, men in Konoha didn't seem to mind at all. Especially Jiraiya wouldn't if he was ever here. Nope, he wouldn't mind another addition to his "research." 

"Rena-san!" Rena turned around to see Iruka. She handed him the huge pile of papers. "Here is the paper that you mentioned." Iruka seemed amazed. Ever since she became a jounin, she has been helping the Academy and her ability to file papers, negotiate, just generally take care of business was amazing. He didn't even know how he could have survived without her. Iruka was lost in thought for a while when he remembered his real reason to see Rena.

"Ah! Me, Naruto, and Kakashi are going to Ichigaku after we are done. Care to join us?"

Naruto… She hasn't seen him as much since she moved out of the team. He must have been training a lot, she thought. Did she miss him? She had to think for an answer. But not too long. Rena smiled and gladly accepted Iruka's invitation.

"Ah, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto's face instantly lit up as he saw his old sensei. "Eh?" He stretched his back to see someone behind him. Someone looking familiar….

"EEEHHH??!! Rena? What are you doing here?"Naruto almost choked on the ramen.

Iruka and Rena busted out laughing. Kakashi only smiled. Rena could see Naruto hasn't changed at all. But she could also see that he definitely grew. Inside and outside. _'__Kids these days__'_, she wearily thought.

Iruka and Rena took seats next to Naruto. Naruto looked at Rena rather awkwardly. Sure, this was not the first time he's seen her like this, but still to think that she was his age only a month ago was weird.

"How's your new job going?" asked Kakashi, breaking a long, awkward silence.

"Ah, good. Really. I'm having a lot of fun." Rena took a gulp of soup. She was wearing the _traditional_ shinobi outfit instead of her garb due to her job as an assistant teacher at the academy. The uniform oddly suited her well. It looked as if she was too—how to we put it?—regal looking to wear such clothes but somehow she was managing to look good in it.

And the other difference was her hair. Now she had it in high ponytail instead of low. However, the hair was still so long that it went down almost to her middle of the back. No one knew how the heck she could take care of her hair. A real good care.

"So, what have you been up to, Naruto?" Naruto turned his head to Rena. She was making a big, mischievous looking smile. He couldn't wait to tell her what he was trying to accomplish. So he spilled the beans.

"Hm…" was Rena's reaction. That wasn't really what Naruto expected. He expected at least, "WOW." But his disappointment quickly changed when he saw a twinkle in her eyes.

"You're trying to make a new nin-jutsu? That's cool! So how are you doing on that?"

Naruto was having a major mood swing today. His excited soon bubbled away with frustration. He just murmured that it wasn't going well. Kakashi stepped in to explain.

"Naruto is having a hard time with elemental manipulation. But then, I predicted as much since he didn't even know what his element was until recently."

"Hm? So what's your element?" Rena asked. Naruto mumbled something in low voice. Rena couldn't quite understand what he was saying. Kakashi had to tell her what it was.

"Wind? What's wrong with that?" Rena cast a glance at Naruto who was obviously not happy about his element.

"That's what I have been trying to tell him, but since there's no one who can show him the wind element, it's somewhat hard."

Rena stood up, looking defiant. "Naruto, we're going to the training ground. Now."

* * *

"Why do you think the wind element is not as good as other elements?" asked Rena.

Naruto wasn't so sure how to answer that question. "Well…" he started. "The wind doesn't do as much of damage compared to other elements. It's not like you can create wind for an attack!"

Rena didn't seem convinced. "Remember the fight that I had with Kakashi-sensei?"

A memory crossed his mind. Man, that was already two months ago! Of course, he remembered.

"Well, watch this." Then Rena made a familiar sphere of chakra, Rasengan. Naruto was really close to remember what kind of jutsu she used in the spar. He kind of did, but he couldn't remember the detail.

Kakashi did, though. He now knew where she was going. He remembered that she was a wind elemental user. It was a good timing because he couldn't fully explain the wind element to Naruto since he was a lightening elemental.

"You're right, Naruto. Wind element is a bit different from others. You can't use the _wind_ to attack someone. Wind is more like a supplementary element, a helper."

"Huh?" Naruto seemed utterly confused. Rena smiled. She didn't expect him to get it in the first place. Actually, if he did, she would have been really surprised.

"For example," she let out her Rasengan on the ground. A familiar spherical hole was made in the ground. "Rasengan _is_ a powerful jutsu, but it can only affect small area around it. But if you add wind elemnt to it…" Rena made another Rasengan, but a little bit different. Naruto could see some chakra had edges, like blades.

Rena let out her new Rasengan on the ground and an unbelievable thing happened. Not only it made a spherical hole, but also the chakra shot out of the sphere cutting the ground. When the jutsu was done, the diameter of Rasengan was at least tripled. The damage was unbelievable. Naruto finally remembered this jutsu's name.

"Ransegan: The Wind Blade…"

"So as you can see, if you master wind element, you can create chakra blades. It can be used in jutsus and also your weapons. When you fight with equally advanced ninja, the one with the sharpest weapon would win. Just like Rasengan: The Wind Blade would win against normal Rasengan."

Naruto was absorbing, or at least trying to, all the information about wind element. Rena has finally given him a motivation for learning wind element. Kakashi was glad about this unexpected Naruto's training. In fact, it was a bit troublesome since Naruto wasn't willing to learn his own element. He always demanded that he learn different elements like fire or water.

"Well, try to learn the elemental manipulation the best you can. Once you master your own element, who knows? You might learn another one." Rena winked.

Naruto was thoroughly excited now. "Kakashi-sensei! Let's go training!"

Kakashi just smiled. It was already ten at night. But no one could stop the enthusiastic knuckle-head ninja.

* * *

"Thanks for motivating Naruto the other day." Rena found Kakashi standing at the door. The kids who just got their recess were trying to talk to Kakashi. 

"Haha, you're welcome. I can see you're quite famous." Rena took her papers to her desk, leaving Kakashi to deal with the kids.

Once they were all gone, Kakashi walked up to Rena. An odd silence embraced them. Kakashi finally dared to break it.

"Remember your last mission with my team?"

Rena's eyebrow was raised. Of course she did. It was the mission to retrieve Sasuke. The one that they failed, but still there was a small accomplishment.

"It's about the information that we confirmed, isn't it?" Her calm, deep amber eyes gazed into Kakashi's.

Kakashi nodded. "There has been a suspicious movement in the land of Grass. It will be a secret mission so we need as few people as we can afford. You and I alone will be going there."

"Are we finding out if they're planning an invasion from there?"

"Yes. Also, if it turns out to be true, then it's better for Konoha to have small number of shinobis out of village."

Rena nodded. She understood the grave situation of this mission. "And how will I be excused? It should be something trivial so that no one will suspect."

Kakashi smiled in a joking way. "Maybe we can say we went to honeymoon together." He could feel Rena's glare and quickly changed his answer. "Tsunade-sama will say you have food poison so you can't see anyone. Besides, no one will want to see you when you're throwing up."

"Charming image."

Kakashi chuckeld. He could see that she was getting a little tense. "Hey, relax. Just think of it as camping."

Rena, relaxed, scoffed at Kakashi. "Hah, like I will ever go camping with a pervert like you? No thanks."

Ever since Rena's dramatic growth, they have grown quite close together. Now that they didn't have to worry about student-teacher formality anymore, they found each other surprisingly good company. It wasn't a surprise anymore to see them together.

"Anyways, pack your belongings and meet me at the gate in ten minutes."

"Understood." And both of them were gone.

* * *

"Ready?" Kakashi turned around to greet Rena when a surprise came. 

"That garb…" He couldn't finish the sentence. She was wearing the beautiful white garb that she wore a month ago. Ever since she worked at the academy, she never wore this. So when he saw her again with it, he couldn't hide his surprise.

"I know this is not really for _camouflage_. But trust me, this garb has special powers."

Kakashi merely shrugged. Actually, he wouldn't have cared about what she wore to the mission. That was her choice, not his. And he knew that she was sensible enough not to choose clothes just because of fashion.

And two of them were on their way. They didn't talk much along their way to the land of Grass. Rena stiffened a little when they arrived at Orochimaru's last hideout. To appease Naruto, she had to give up on Sasuke. She wasn't regretting her decision of choosing Naruto, but that didn't mean she wasn't feeling bad about her failure. Especially when she knew getting Sasuke meant so much to Sakura and Naruto.

Sensing this, Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. Startled, Rena looked at him. "It wasn't your fault." He said. "You weren't even in the team. Thanks to you, Naruto was saved."

Rena just nodded, grateful for what he said. Rena wanted Sasuke back as much as Sakura and Naruto. She never knew Sasuke personally, but she wanted to do something for them. Before she would be gone. Maybe for good.

That was why she accepted this mission. Just to get a lead on the whereabouts of Orochimaru meant a lot to her. Besides, she too had some scores to settle with him.

"So what now?" She asked. It's been nearly a month since the last mission. It was not a bad guess that they left right after the team's visit. Kakashi pulled out a scroll and summoned his nin-dogs.

"Yo," said Pakkun. Kakashi pulled out Sasuke's headband. He had already gotten this from Naruto for this mission. Of course, Naruto didn't why Kakashi needed it. If he did, he wouldn't let Kakashi go to mission by himself.

"Here is Sasuke's headband. Do you think you can trace him from here?" Pakkun sniffed at the headband.

"Well, he's been here alright. But it has been awhile." Rena bit her lips as her assumption came true.

"We should have to look around blindly for awhile, but we will definitely find him."

"Good. Thanks, everyone." And the nin-dogs were gone.

When Kakashi turned around to see Rena, he could see that she was using a summoning jutsu as well. When she was done, he saw a beautiful red bird. He didn't exactly know what kind, but it had a long tail and shimmering red feather. It flew gracefully onto her arms. Rena whispered something in its ears and the bird was soon gone.

"What…. was that?" Kakashi finally managed to ask, mesmerized by its beauty.

"I'm not exactly sure. I got it from my master. He said that this is the last descendant of Suzaku."

"You mean… the Phoenix of South?"

She nodded. In fact, she was little surprised that he still remembered Suzaku the Phoenix. She thought it was long forgotten. Or she hoped.

"Of course, it doesn't have Phoenix's power, but it's extremely intelligent and it can send foolproof signal," said Rena, pulling out a red feather. Kakashi remembered. It was the same feather that led him to Rena when she was kidnapped. _'__So that__'__s where the feather came from__'_ Kakashi thought.

"Why don't we check out the hideout while waiting for them?" Rena suggested. Since Kakashi couldn't think of anything else to do, he agreed.

The hideout was actually an underground laboratory. The wall was dark gray with fungus and dirty water. They could hear the water dropping from various places. It looked more like a sewer. Cautiously, Rena and Kakashi proceeded.

"What the…." Kakashi suddenly stopped. So did Rena. It was the biggest room that they explored. The huge wall was full of drawings. All of tiger, tortoise, dog, dragon and in the middle…

"Suzaku…" He murmured. The picture of magnificent Phoenix hung there. Speechless, they got closer to the wall. Rena figured that Orhochimaru has been researching on four great demon gods. Rena tore her gaze from the picture and scanned the scrolls.

Kakashi saw that Rena's hands were trembling. She angrily threw the scroll on the ground. Kakashi flinched a bit because he's never seen her this emotional.

"This scroll…" Rena spat out. "He's been trying to figure out the secret of Suzaku's immortality."

"Immor…tality?"

"Out of all four gods—or five I don't care, Suzaku is the only one who is truly immortal. Orochimaru has been trying to figure out how and use it for himself!"

"Wait, what do you mean? The only one who is _truly_ immortal?"

"Three other gods were also beings out of streams of time. They never got old. And they had amazing ability of regeneration. However, none of them were truly immortal. But Suzaku is different. When Suzaku figures that her life is in danger, she sets herself aflame and she will die. But after three years, she will be reborn from her ashes, good as new. Or so people say."

"So Orochimaru is one of the people who believe that legend and is trying to figure out how?"

"That's what I think." Rena gritted her teeth. How dare he tries to raise his status from human and place himself in the place of gods. One idiot was enough. She would never let Orochimaru have what he wants.


	16. Could it be?

Waaahh I'm really sorry about late, really late update. As you can see, I'm alive. (yay) I was just really busy with college app. for like a month.-- Now it's all pretty much done so I have some time, yay!:)

* * *

As Kakashi and Rena stepped out of the laboratory, the bright sunlight greeted them. Covering her eyes with her hands, Rena sadly thought, '_No sunlight would be able to light my darkness.__'_

For many years, she has seen her friends die, her acquaintances get killed, and countless people whom she called _friends_ pointing kunais at her. Normal people wouldn't have been able to handle this kind of sense of betrayal and pain. Their heart would have been shattered and crumbled to pieces until they couldn't feel anything.

Degradation.

But somehow, Rena miraculously held onto her heart because of her faith in humanity. No matter how many times she has been betrayed and hurt, she knew that not everyone was like that. She will just have to teach them and watch them learn and grow. And someday...

"Rena? Rena!" She snapped out of her thoughts to see Kakashi looking at her. She smiled weakly.

"Sorry. I was lost in thoughts."

Kakashi didn't say anything for now, but he couldn't help feeling strange about her. At first, he thought of her as a careless, unpredictable student, but he could see her unusual maturity that couldn't come from teenager. And now, from now and then, he saw a flicker of dark past through her deep amber eyes. So much pain and sadness lied within that even he couldn't handle it. If he couldn't bear to even look at it, how did she bear it on her shoulders?

"Hm, I wonder if they found anything yet."

As soon as Rena finished her sentence, Pakun and other nin-dogs returned.

"Sorry, Kakashi. We looked everywhere, but no sign of Sasuke was found. I bet they left about at least a month ago."

"Really? Thanks." Kakashi couldn't hide his disappointment completely. He knew that Orochimaru would have left this site after it has been discovered, but he still couldn't help hoping that there was at least a trace of them.

A warm hand was placed on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We will find them soon. For now, we will have to find anything else that goes around here for possible invasion."

"For _that_, I have good news." Pakun interfered. "Just at the southern edge of forest, I saw a suspicious camping area. It wouldn't hurt to see what they're up to."

Kakashi and Rena nodded and followed Pakun.

"Here we are," said Pakun, breaking a long silence among three. "Well, I better get going now. You know I'm not a fighting type of summon."

Kakashi nodded. "Thanks, Pakun." And then, the nin-dog was gone.

"What do you think about this?" Kakashi turned around to answer the question, only surprised to see her outfit. Instead of a white, her yukata (Japanese Robe) turned to brown that matched the tree color perfectly. If it wasn't for her pale skin and vibrant red hair, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish her from far away.

Noticing his stare, Rena glanced at her garb and mischievously pointed out, "I told you there was a reason for wearing this."

Kakashi turned his gaze to the camping site. It was really suspicious, he had to say. About ten camps were set up and there was even a temporary warehouse. All the people looked like some kind of mercenaries.

"Should we wait?" asked Rena.

"Hm, Pakun was right. This is somewhat suspicious. Especially that storage room. We should wait until the night and investigate there..." Kakashi stopped.

"What?"

"You know, I'm not your captain or sensei anymore. Why do you keep asking for instruction?"

Rena just shrugged. "Just a habit, I guess. And you have more experience in this kind of thing than I do."

His head was telling him that she was telling the truth, but somehow he couldn't help feeling that she wasn't entirely so.

"Well, why don't we camp here and wait until the dusk?" Rena suggested. They quickly set up sleeping bags and small fire place. Rena climbed up the tree to keep a watch on the camp site.

It was a beautiful late afternoon with warm sunlight and light breeze. Kakashi sat under the shade of big trees, feeling the cool breeze washing his face. He knew he was on the mission, but somehow he felt relaxed more than ever. Watching clouds move slowly and drinking in the coolness of the forest pushed back the rush of adrenaline that he usually had during the mission.

Peaceful hours have passed. When the sun was on its way to set, Rena came down, somewhat exhausted.

"Why don't you take over now? I saw a hot spring from up there. I'm going to go there and rest for awhile."

Kakashi nodded and took Rena's post. The view was utterly beautiful. The forest was dyed in orange red from the sunset. While he was looking around the forest, he noticed a place with steam coming out.

_'__That must be the hot spring that Rena was talking about__,'_ Kakashi thought.

Now, he was going through a major self battle within himself. He knew well what had happened to Jiraiya-sama when he tried to peek Sakura and Rena. But God, you were talking about a guy who couldn't live without Icha Icha Paradise!

After a long time of self-fighting, Kakashi decided to take a peek. Just a peek. The sun was nearly down and he could see the people eating dinner, which would take a while to finish. It wouldn't hurt to leave the post a while, Kakashi thought. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't do such a thing, but they were waiting for the night anyway so he had some extra time to kill.

Quietly, he headed to the direction of hot spring. Sure enough, he found it nearby. The hot steam gently touched his face. He hid behind one of trees and began to look for Rena. It wasn't that difficult since she was the only one in the hot spring. He couldn't help sighing when he found that her back was facing him.

Rena's long red hair was spread wide in the water, making it look like corals. He was mesmerized her vibrant hair when she suddenly stood up.

Her hair was long enough to cover part of her thigh, but he could still see the hourglass figure of Rena in the back. Shinobi uniforms weren't exactly clothes that were showing women's figures so he was surprised to see such figure from Rena.

She walked to the other side of the hot spring, still facing back, and put on the towel. Rather satisfied, Kakashi was about to leave when he suddenly noticed that she was gone.

Where could she have gone? Kakashi thought. It was way too fast for her to walk away from the hot spring. Could it be that she was kidnapped while he just looked away? But that was impossible! He only turned his head for a second and he would have been able to notice if anyone else was near the hot spring.

While he was turning around he couldn't take his eyes off the hot spring, hoping to catch a glance of Rena. He decided that he should look around the area and turned around to...

"BOO!"

A monstrous face was right in front of him when he turned around. Kakashi was usually a calm guy and a professional shinobi but it was such a huge surprise that even he couldn't help gasping and almost falling down.

A clear, light laughter filled the forest.

A hand came up and slowly pulled the face, revealing none other than Rena. Kakashi already recognized her from her hair and outfit (still the towel). Looking at Kakashi who didn't seem happy, Rena winked,

"Didn't Jiraiya-sama already tell you what would happen if you watch girls bathing?"

Kakashi just awkwardly turned his head, not meeting her eyes. Giggling, she picked up her clothes.

"I will be changing then. I can trust that you won't peek this time, right?"

Rena accepted Kakashi's grumble as a yes. She couldn't help giggling. The generations have passed, but she guessed guys were always the same. She couldn't help telling herself, "I guess students do learn from their teachers."

"Shall we go?" Kakashi looked up to see Rena smiling. He was just hoping that she didn't have a grudge against him for his stupidity. Rena stretched out her hand to help him stand up. Taking this and her smile as a sign of forgiveness Kakashi took a firm hold of her hand.

"So how do we get in?" asked Rena, glancing at the camp site. It had been almost an hour since the sun went down, but those men didn't seem even sleepy. At this rate, Rena and Kakashi would literally have to wait until dawn.

"We have to make them sleep, somehow."

Thinking over what Kakashi had said, Rena made complicated seals. Recognizing the seals, he remembered the last battle he had with her. The jutsu that should have gotten him, but didn't.

"Soundless Sleep Jutsu!"

Thick fog began to roll in. Rena hurriedly pulled out herb and handed it to Kakashi. "Hurry and take this before the fog gets you. I forgot that you weren't immune to it."

Kakashi took the herb gratefully. As soon as he finished it, the drowsiness that was attacking him. When he looked down, the fog was still there. It was definitely thicker than the one that she had used against him... two months ago? He couldn't believe it. It felt as if Rena had been in Konoha for years, but in reality, she stayed in Konoha for a little bit more than two months.

"Kakashi, Kakashi!"

Kakashi quickly snapped out of his daydream. He didn't know why, but whenever he was around Rena, he had... quite many daydreams. Especially about past.

Rena motioned him that it's safe to go. Kakashi and Rena climbed down the tree carefully. He could smell some sort of medicine smell which he assumed was the poison. The camp was eerily quiet. The lack of light due to late hour didn't help the atmosphere at all.

"Why did we have to wait until the night if we could just use this jutsu?" asked Kakashi.

"Well, it takes more chakra to put people in sleep when their minds are active and we are talking about twenty people at least. Even though I have quite a tank of chakra, if I wanted to make them fall asleep completely in broad daylight, I would have been dead already. Besides, suddenly falling asleep in the afternoon can't be explained that easily."

Nodding, Kakashi took steps to the warehouse.

They were surprised to find the warehouse... empty.

"O...kay... I'm a bit confused now," said Rena, breaking a shocked silence.

"Well, what do you know? They are really here."

Kakashi and Rena quickly picked up their kunai and turned around. They recognized the man as one who seemed to be the leader of the gang. Rena tried not to show in her face, but her thoughts were going crazy. _'__But how?__ How did they manage to escape my __jutsu__'_

"We were expecting you." Another man came in. No, more than one. The entire mercenary seemed to be immune to Rena's jutsu. Rena slowly bit her bottom lip. She wasn't expecting this at all. The situation was getting worse for them. They were cornered since the warehouse didn't have any windows, and even though it was temporary, it was impossible for either Kakashi or Rena to break the wall.

Noticing Rena's glance at the wall, the leader said, "Don't get any funny ideas. They specially reinforced this warehouse wall with special jutsus so that it can't be broken by tai-jutsu or nin-jutsu."

"_They_?" Kakashi calmly asked. As soon as he realized that the entire mercenary was immune to the jutsu, he suspected that there will be someone who was helping them from behind, which meant...

_This was a trap_.

"Who are _they _you're talking about?" Rena roughly demanded the answer. He could hear the anxiety in her voice. Then he realized why too. He couldn't draw any of his chakra. He even had trouble using his Sharingan.

"Ah, I guess you have also noticed our little trick." The leader said. Kakashi and Rena hated how he was playing melodramatic, drawing time and blah blah blah. "This warehouse also has some special ability. Anyone who comes in here will have no access to their chakra, limiting them to rely on only tai-jutsu. Even though you are shinobis, you're dealing with the band of experience mercenaries. Give up, it's over."

Kakashi bitterly admitted the leader. Without nin-jutsus, they were in horrible disadvantage. The mercenaries' and shinobis' fighting levels were usually the same. Since they were outnumbered, their nin-jutsu was their only hope. '_Think __Kakashi__. There should be a way out of this.__'_

"So, you think you won this?" Kakashi turned around to see Rena, surprised of her sudden calm/coolness and deep voice. The mercenaries seem to be backed off by her attitude as well, but they weren't affected for long.

When he glanced at her again, he couldn't believe his eyes. Her eyes... looked just like Naruto's when Kyuubi's chakra was seeping. But before he could really tell what he saw, Rena attacked in an instant.

The speed, the accuracy was anything beyond human. Within matter of seconds, two, three, five mercenaries were down. Without his Sharingan, he could see was red flash.

Wait... Red... Flash...?

* * *

While this mayhem was going on in Grass Country, Tsunade tapped her fingers anxiously on her desk. Ever since Rena experienced the dramatic growth, she couldn't help feeling that she saw Rena before. 

Also, there was no record of any family named Mizuho. Then where did she come from, and how did she have Yondaime Hokage's headband?

"Shizune." Tsunade's assistant quickly came to her aid.

"Haven't you... thought that you've seen Rena before?"

"Eh? What do you mean, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade didn't answer, but just frowned. "There is no record of Mizuho family. No one even remembers anyone with red hair. I mean, she must have had it from her parents, right? Yet, for years, there has been no one..."

Tsunade stopped abruptly. Shizune saw shock, revelation and excitement from Hokage's face.

"Shizune!"

"Ye, yes!"

"Find the record... um... the record..." Tsunade was scratching her head wildly, a habit when she couldn't remember something.

"The record of what...?"

"Not what, but _who._ Ugh, what was her name?" Then she stopped.

"Bring me the record of Uzumaki Kushina."


	17. The Invasion 1

Waaah, thanks for the reviews!! I thought everyone would forget about me because I was... pretty much dead. TT

* * *

"Uzumaki... Kushina?" asked Shizune.

"Yeah, yeah, you know Kushi..." stooped Tsunade, utterly amazed by Shizune's reaction. "You don't know Uzumaki Kushina?"

Shizune shook her head.

"But, but how? Of course you know her. I saw you with her 14 years ago!" Tsunade remembered the day that she had met Shizune. Hell, Kushina was the one who introduced Shizune to her! How could she not know her? Well, Tsunade didn't really have a chance to know her because she only stayed in Konoha for couple of days and that was the first and the last time she saw her. But Tsunade could remember the short, vibrant red hair and her boyish if not rambunctious manner. In fact, by personality, Rena and Kushina had nothing in common. Besides, Kushina would be middle of her thirties not early twenties, like Rena.

But there was something. Something that Tsunade couldn't let go. Maybe it was because she kept having a feeling that Rena's personality was a well-made act, something like a mask. Besides, Rena looked way too much like Kushina. Maybe she felt that way because of their unusual red hair.

Shizune's reaction, however, took Tsunade by completely surprise. She couldn't believe that Shizune couldn't actually remember her! Kushina wasn't someone that could be easily forgotten especially when she stayed in Konoha for well about a year. Konoha was a small place. Everyone knew each other.

"Don't you remember? Kushina is the one who introduced you to me!"

Shizune looked dumbfounded. "Hokage-sama, what are you talking about? It was Yondaime Hokage, not... whoever you're talking about... Wait... is she... related to Naruto?"

Tsunade couldn't keep her jaw closed. Hurriedly, she stood up from her desk and opened up the cabinet in the office. She searched the birth certificate frantically. Soon she found the hidden file. The only birth certificate in there was Naruto's. Slowly she opened it.

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Father: Namikaze Minato

Mother: Unkown

"WHAT?!" Tsunade couldn't believe her eyes. She knew that Naruto was hidden that he was the son of Minato because he would be a target to many other countries if it was known that he was a Jinchuuriki **and** Hokage's son. But even for the birth certificate to not have Kushina's name?! It was as if...

She never existed...

Tsunade stormed out of the office, leaving Shizune behind.

* * *

"Wha, what's going on?" One of the mercenaries backed up in fear. What they were seeing was not a human. The aura around her was just... just too big and overpowering for human! 

Kakashi noticed this as well. This couldn't be normal human's chakra. It felt more like... a demon's chakra. He also watched Rena in surprise and distant fear as she took down the men one by one.

"You thought this puny trick would work on me?" Surprisingly, her voice didn't sound possessed or different at all. Kakashi silently let out a sigh of relief.

"But... But how? The man in glasses told us that no one would be able to escape this jutsu!"

_'__The man in glasses?__'_ Kakashi thought. _'__They must mean __Kabuto__'_

In the distance, Kabuto bit his lips. Those stupid mercenaries had to blow his identity! Of course, they were just baits to draw out Konoha shinobis so that the defense would be weak, but it seemed that only two of them came. But he had a bigger achievement. Unexpected, but bigger. His face shining icily with anger, he snapped his finger.

"Kgh!" One of the men suddenly coughed out blood and before anyone could do anything he was dead.

Among surprised Rena and scared mercenaries, Kakashi realized that this was Kabuto's doing. He looked around but he couldn't find anyone.

"What's going on?" asked Rena. This definitely wasn't something she expected.

Kakashi was using all of his senses to figure out where Kabuto might be, but before he could do that, all the mercenaries were dead. Expecting some kind of surprise attack, Kakashi and Rena were surprised to find that nothing happened.

"I guess Kabuto wanted to just erase the eye witnesses."

_'__So he figured about me after all__,'_ thought Kabuto. It wasn't safe to hang around here anymore. He was expecting an army of Konoha shinobis for this mission, weakening the defense line in Konoha. But it seemed that Tsunade was smarter than Orochimaru had thought. Missing only two shinobis won't really matter to Konoha. But...

Kakashi was considered one of the strongest ninja and Rena seemed to be formidable, breaking the special jutsu that drains the chakra. Especially her unusual chakra and looking at her eyes proved what Kabuto believed impossible true. He smiled in pure happiness. His master would finally find the secret of true immortality with his help. Kabuto quickly left the site.

"What should we do?" asked Rena in slightly trembling voice. Kakashi could sense that Rena was in utter shock. "How, how could someone do this? They had nothing to do with this!"

The moment that mercenaries began to die, Kakashi realized this as well. This was probably a setup to draw out as many shinobis as possible from Konoha. That could mean only one thing.

The invasion to Konoha.

"Rena..." He was surprised to find her crying.

"These people had no reason to die. How can people just kill others like it doesn't matter? They're all same! No one has a right to kill anyone just because they feel like it. Why do people do this? WHY?"

Suddenly, her grief and shock entered Kakashi's heart and shook him from the deep down. Ever since they shared chakra, any strong emotions from either of them began to mingle. He could feel so much pain that he could barely stand. And this was supposed to be only part of her emotion. How could stand on her feet with this much pain? The burden that she must be carrying...

Instinctively, Kakashi stood behind her and gently grabbed her by the shoulder. She flinched but relaxed in his grip, grateful for the silence.

After a moment, she calmed and readied herself to get back to Konoha. Now knowing the intention of the enemy, there was no time to waste. Getting also ready, Kakashi was still surprised how Rena was able to compose herself so quickly.

Hoping that they weren't too late, they quickened their pace to Konoha.

* * *

After a brief footwork survey, Tsunade came to an astonishing conclusion. No one, and she meant _no one_, in Konoha seemed to remember the very existence of Uzumaki Kushina. Could it be her imagination? The truth is, she couldn't remember the detail of that mysterious woman either. Usually, she had a good memory of people, but for some reason, she couldn't exactly remember Kushina. Was it because she only saw her once? 

Maybe she was thinking too much. The only similarity between Rena and Kushina appeared to be vibrant red hair. But the harder she tried to remember Kushina's face, the more elusive the image became. Frustrated, she came back to her office and grudgingly took her seat.

Glad for her return, Shizune brought another astonishing, not in a good way, news.

"WHAT?! What do you mean, they just found the suspicious shinobis?! They were supposed to guard the forest everyday!"

"Well, what happened is..." Shizune could understand Tsunade's rage. She just got news from border patrol that they had discovered a suspicious movement of shinobis from unknown origin. The reason why the patrol couldn't find them until now was because the enemy somehow built an underground fortress. It seemed that the enemy has been waiting for days, maybe even for weeks! What was their intention, waiting for so long? _What_ were they waiting for?

Who said that bad things always happen at once? At that moment, Tsunade got a note from a strange red bird. Curious, she quickly opened the paper. It said,

_'__Just finished the mission.__Orochimaru__ seemed to be involved. This mission was probably a trap to draw out as many __shinobis__ as possible from __Konoha. __Possible invasion very soon.__ Please be watchful. __–__Rena__'_

Not able to control her exasperation, she slammed her hand on the table, nearly breaking it. Shizune, utterly scared, watched what Tsunade might do. If she was really pissed, there was nothing that any shinobi could do to stop her. Tsunade used all of her willpower to stay in control of her emotion. She was Hokage. She was the last person to get swept away by her emotion in a situation like this.

"Shizune." Her assistant quickly came to her aid. "Tell the border patrol to take down those _unknown_ shinobis as soon as possible BUT discreetly. I want to contain the situation quietly and soon."

"Is it... Orochimaru?" asked Shizune, sensing Tsunade's seriousness and tension.

Instead of answering, Tsunade just nodded and added, "It's highly possible."

Shizune quickly understood the grave situation and went outside to inform the border patrol. Tsunade, sighing deeply, sat down at her desk and thought about the situation. It was a good thing that she followed her intuition and sent only two shinobis for that strange mission. Since she had been somewhat expecting the invasion, Orochimaru would have thought that she would send the army of shinobis to take down the possible threat of invasion in Grass Country. As soon as his accomplice informed him that majority of shinobis left the country, he would have launched the attack.

She carefully thought about the possible outcome of this twist. By now, Orochimaru would have realized that she wasn't as stupid as he hoped. What would he do? Would he really face the entire army of shinobi of Konoha, one of _the_ strongest shinobi villages? It was possible for him to pull out. But knowing his malicious ambitions, she knew better that it was mere a mindless dream. Besides, he would know that Tsunade already figured out his plan, thanks to Kakashi and Rena. There was no way back. It was now or never.

"Come here whenever you're ready, Orochimaru. As long as I'm Hokage, there is no way I will hand this village to you." Tsunade muttered.

* * *

"Hmm... So the plan didn't work then?" 

Kabuto sadly nodded his head. This could be bad. He knew that there was no way Sound Village shinobis could take down Konoha. Now that they didn't have alliance with Suna, their military size was hugely outnumbered. However, with his new discovery, taking down Konoha could wait just a while.

"You look like you have something to say. What is it?" Orochimaru made a sly smile.

Kabuto smiled, not too happy. Orochimaru knew him too well. Sometimes, he wondered if his master could read other's minds. He quickly told his master about the discovery. Instantly, Orochimaru's eyes widened.

"Are you sure?"

Kabuto nodded. "The jutsu was supposed to repel any kind of human chakra. If that woman could break it, that means she has some kind of other chakra."

Orochimaru pondered on this new discovery quite delightfully. Could she be what he had been searching for?

"Orochimaru-sama, is there a possibility that she is a jinchuuriki?"

He thought about his subordinate's remark. Then he shook his head. "No, as far as I know from Akatsuki, there was only one jinchuuriki in Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto."

"But it seems that the woman only came to Konoha about two months ago."

But Orochimaru shook his head again. "Maybe you're correct. But your description of that woman is too similar to be a coincidence. We're changing the plan." He suddenly stood up. Then he could feel the death glare from the shadow. The penetrating, hating glare from...

"Sasuke, don't be too disappointed. We can take down Konoha any time we want. This opportunity is too big to miss."

But still, Sasuke's glare didn't seem to soften.

"After we get her, we will be able to get tremendous amount of power. With that power, your brother won't be a match for you. No, no human being will be able to surpass us."

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, which didn't happen too often.

"Kabuto. Tell the army that we're changing plan. Don't try to take down Konoha _yet_. But try to draw time as much as possible."

"What are you gonna do in that borrowed time? Have sake with Tsunade?"

Kabuto shot a glare at Sasuke. He never liked how this boy treated his master like nothing. His arrogance and attitude was too much. If Kabuto had said something like that, he would have been killed instantaneously. But Sasuke was going to be a vessel anyway, so he would be free from him in no time.

"No, Sasuke-kun. Much better than that. This time, _you_ are going to help too."

Kabuto and Sasuke were both surprised. _'__He is going to participate too?__'_ thought Kabuto. But that was never their plan! Orochimaru's time for new body was drawing rapidly and sending Sasuke at this crucial moment was too big of a risk. There would be no way that Sasuke would be killed, but they had to take precautions to make sure that Sasuke stayed alive until _the moment_ came.

"This woman... we are talking about. After my little jutsu is done, there is no way I will be able to match her power by myself. You, at least, have a gift. A special gift that might stand a chance."

_'__Is he talking about __Sharingan__'_ thought Sasuke. When Orochimaru mentioned _gift_, both Sasuke and Kabuto thought that he had meant _gift_ as _talent._

But Orochimaru meant _gift_ as _present_. A special, ancient gift that was bestowed on two men in the past. A gift that would bring down his precious little bird.


	18. The Invasion 2

GAH, I wanted to finish this before New Years, but my procrastination kicked in.

I know it's a bit late, but Happy New Years!!

* * *

The new plan had been informed to the entire squad. Now, the "pseudo-invasion" of Konoha has begun.

"What?! They started moving?!" shouted Tsunade. The worst scenario has come true. Then there was no choice. Tsunade quickly went out to gather all jounins and chunins.

"We have to keep the enemy out of the border as long as possible!" Tsunade explained to the shionobis. "Meanwhile, Shizune will conduct the evacuation to the mountain. Until then, don't try to take down the enemy. Minimizing damage is our number one priority. When I give you signal," A sly smile came across Tsunade's face, "then you can beat the hell out of them. Understood?! Now, go!"

Soon, all the shinobis were gone. Tsunade motioned her assistance for the emergency announcement. All the villagers would evacuate to the base of the mountain, the safest place in Konoha.

"Hokage-sama." Tsunade turned around to find Shizune. "What about Kakashi and Rena?"

"They know about this invasion. Hell, they're the ones who informed me. When they get here, they will get the situation." Tsunade's lips closed tightly. She had a faith in those two. If she didn't, she wouldn't have sent them to that mission anyway.

* * *

"What do you think would have happened to Konoha?" Rena calmly asked as they were getting closer to their village.

"Orochimaru will probably already know about us. Most likely, their invasion began already."

Rena's face grew dark. Kakashi could understand why. Another invasion was the last thing that anyone hoped. Hopefully, when they get there, they would see the village. Not a rubbish ruin.

Suddenly, Rena stopped. As Kakashi was about to ask why, he stopped as well. This powerful chakra. It was too big to miss but there was one more thing... He knew this chakra...

...Sasuke...

Instantly, Rena and Kakashi turned left, finding the source of the chakra. Sasuke was standing there indifferently. Not even moving a muscle in his face, he was between Rena and Kakashi in a blink of an eye. Rena quickly made a battle stance as Kakashi raised his headband to reveal Sharingan. It was the first time he used it since "Akatsuki incident." He was very surprised to find that his Sharingan changed. The last time he was able to activate Mangekyou Sharingan. But now... his Sharingan _was_ Mangekyou to begin with! What the heck had happened?

Sasuke seemed to notice his former-sensei's improvement as well. _'__No matter,__'_he thought. _'__With __Mangekyou __Sharingan__ or not, I can still easily outmatch him._'

But unfortunately, taking down Kakashi wasn't his mission. His mission was to get Kakashi out of his way, and battle this woman... what was her name? Mizuho Rena? ...and weaken her as much as he could until Orochimaru was done with his _special present_ for her. But he still had to get rid of Kakashi to do so. How would he..?

As if she had noticed his plan, she turned to Kakashi. "You go on without me."

Kakashi was startled. Was she kidding? "What are you talking about? Sasuke isn't someone to be taken lightly. We shoud..."

"Kakashi, I know what I'm talking about. Konoha needs help and you should be there at least. Don't worry, I will be fine."

When he saw her eyes, he knew that he couldn't defer her determination. God, she was just like Naruto when she was determined. Stubborn, never backing down. Worriedly, he set out for Konoha. He knew leaving Rena alone with Sasuke was crazy, but she did have a point and convincing her otherwise was out of question. Sasuke's mission was probably hold two of them down for as long as possible. It was better to have a faith and leave her behind.

_'__Just be careful, Rena,__'_ thought Kakashi as he headed to Konoha.

"So, we meet again," said Rena, breaking a long silence between them.

"You are a fool. You really think you can handle me by yourself?" Although Sasuke _was_ grateful that he didn't have to get rid of the pest himself.

"We'll have to see about that."

Without warning, a long sword-shaped chakra charged at her. Surprised, she had barely enough time to dodge it. She was impressed. There weren't many people who could manipulate chakra without seals. But then, she was also one of those _not many people._

Sasuke was surprised to find his blue sword-formed chakra was surrounded by red chakra. Like a vine, the red chakra enveloped his own and before he could anything to counterattack, his chakra was gone.

Using his shock as advantage, Rena quickly charged at him. Even though she had an element of surprise, she was dealing with Sharingan. As long as nin-jutsus and tai-jutsus, there was no such thing as _surprise._ He anticipated every move and blocked it. He had to admit that her tai-jutsu was impressive: fast, precise and always ready for defense and counterattack. But impressive in the norm could never outmatch the genius. The genius of kekkei genkai, Sharingan.

As their battle ensued, Sasuke couldn't help feeling that this woman wasn't trying her best. Of course, he didn't have to since all he had to do was wear her out. However, what did she have to hold back for? Then a horrible realization hit him:_ Is she testing my __Sharinga__n'__s__ ability?_

Then suddenly, Rena's entire body was covered in a thin layer of red chakra. Realizing what she was going to do, Sasuke quickly jumped out of her way. A hand-shaped chakra sprouted out of her to grab him in a matter of second.

Sasuke bit his lips in frustration. As impressive as Sharingan was, it could only track down human movements and traces of chakra. The chakra that would move on its own, or without any seals, was only thing that he couldn't anticipate. It was just like when he had battled Naruto a long time ago. When his special chakra started attacking, he realized the only weakness of Sharingan. That ability lied with Byakugan, another kekkei genkai of Konoha that could track down chakra of any form.

Sharingan and Byakugan were compatible to each other. What Sharingan couldn't track, Byakugan could and visa versa. A small smile crossed Sasuke's face. But then _he_ wasn't the only one with this disadvantage. He discharged his own chakra manipulation. The chakra charged at her in incredible speed. In midair, there was no way she could anticipate and dodge it.

"WHAT?!" said Sasuke in disbelief. As if she knew exactly what was going to happen, she twisted her body to avoid his chakra. There was no way that she could have done it unless she had known what was going to happen. But how? That kind of ability was only given to Hyuuga clan. And Sasuke was pretty damn sure that she wasn't from the clan.

"Surprised?" A mischievous grin appeared on the woman's face. Then he noticed it too. Her eyes... were different. It looked as if they were... activated Byakugan? The heightened veins around her eyes told him that it was definitely Byakugan, but when they met their eyes, he couldn't help taking a sharp breath in surprise.

Her pupils were exactly same as Sasuke's.

"What... How is this possible?" Sasuke was usually, if not always, a calm person. Nothing really big can surprise him. But seeing someone with the characteristic of Byakugan _and_ Sharingan was definitely a shock to him. Her pupils were, instead of amber, deep violet eyes were staring at him.

"You don't need to know about how it is possible, or _what _it is." In a second, she was right in front of Sasuke. He could see that her Sharingan was no ordinary one, but Mangekyou Sharingan.

_BUT HOW?!_ He has never seen, or heard of anyone with both Sharingan and Byakugan. She could literally see everything. How was he supposed to attack her when she could anticipate any attack?

While Sasuke was frantically trying to find the weakness, two fingers charged at him. The tai-jutsu of Hyuuga clan! He remembered it from long time ago. Knowing what it might do to his chakra flow, he quickly dodged it.

This wasn't good. He was losing it. Not physically yet, but he knew he was losing his cool. Exactly how long has it been since he saw anyone stronger than him? Recently, he even deemed Orochimaru inferior to him. A jolt of excitement went through Sasuke's spine.

If he defeated her, it will make him stronger. Stronger than his brother. And one day...

"Thinking about your brother?"

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts, blaming his distraction. Then he was shocked to find himself in Konoha. No, it wasn't Konoha. It must have been genjustu! But how? How come he didn't even notice it? Was this the power of... whatever she had from those eyes?

"I have heard your story from Naruto sometime ago." Rena saw Sasuke flinch a little bit at the mention of his former best friend. A normal person wouldn't even notice it, but she could. She knew that no matter how much he denied to others and even himself, he still deeply cared about Naruto.

"It wasn't an easy life, was it?" Suddenly, the bright daylight was gone and came the night. Countless corpses on the road. His aunt, uncle, cousins... The red moon... There was no doubt. This was the night when his life turned around.

Sasuke scoffed. "You possibly think you can emotionally affect me by showing me this? Think again. I have been through every day, night with every fiber of my being. To remember the purpose of my life, what I have to do before I die, I thought this over and over again. I will not forget this night because this is where my hatred comes from. The hatred made me this strong and it'll continue to do so."

"True. The drive for revenge can do that to you. But do tell me." Her voice was coming from right next to him, like she was whispering a sweet story to him. "You have made many people shed tears, killed many people in order to _get strong._ Isn't that what Itachi did? To prove that he's strong, he killed entire family clan. The only difference between you can your brother is that you just happen to kill someone that you don't know. You'll be nothing like a hero by killing your brother. No, far from it. No matter how much you want to deny, you're just like your brother..."

"That's not true." Sasuke spat out. He tried to smack this woman, but he couldn't move his body. For some reason, he couldn't get out of this genjutsu either. So for now, he had to deal with this. For now.

"Not true? You have killed hundreds of people to test your strength. You have your friends suffer because of your petty revenge. Hah, revenge? Think about it again. When you first started training, I'm sure it was all for revenge. But now... you just want to kill Itachi because you want to _prove_ that you're stronger than him. Face it, no one can hold onto revenge for their life. Eventually, they will step up from their past and move on. And so did you."

"..."

"Not believe me? Then tell me, Sasuke. All this time you were thinking about revenge, how many times have you thought about whom you're revenging for, eh? How long has it been since you thought about your dead family, the one that you're avenging for?!"

The cold realization, or truth, hit him hard. Could it be true? What she said... was true. He did start training because he wanted avenge his family. But somehow it has turned into just a desire to kill his brother. Has his pure intention of avenging his family turned into a mad obsession of just killing Itachi? Has he lost himself for all those years?!

"You're... wrong..." Sasuke managed to whisper out. "I'm _nothing_ like my brother."

"Not yet. But you're getting there."

The scene changed into the hill that he had a fight with hundreds of shinobis. As he mortally injured all of them, he didn't have a single return blood.

"I never killed anyone. Unlike Itachi, I let those vermins live."

"So, that's how you justify yourself. _You never killed anyone?_ Do you honestly think that they will survive your wounds when they can't even get themselves to proper medication facility or even their village? You just didn't finish them in your hands! Don't you dare think that it's not your responsibility just because you didn't finish them off!"

Then suddenly, he was out genjutsu. Rena was standing in front of him.

"It's your life so I won't say anything else. But I have to meet _him._ Where the hell is he?"

Sasuke instinctively knew that she meant by Orochimaru. "He's in the center of this forest. He said he has some surprise for you," answered Sasuke wearily.

By his attitude, Rena knew that she gave a serious wake-up call and something close to breakdown. She knew that she shook him from the deepest corner of his mind. He would feel like his world is being turned upside down. But she was impressed how he composed himself. She could tell his mind was in turmoil, but he could still hold onto himself.

"Well, I will trust that you will let me go peacefully. Not that it will make much of a difference, if you don't."

Sasuke didn't say anything, or try to stop her. Rena quickly passed Sasuke to hunt down Orochimaru, the man who started all this agony and pain. She would take care of him for sure. There was no way that he would get away after causing this much chaos.


	19. The Goddess

Hello, everyone! I'm starting school tomorrow. Ugh. Anyways, after this huge chunk of story is done, I might have a little sidetrack chapters of New Year! I don't know for sure yet, since I'm thinking about it. But it will be fun to have some chapters without bloody battles.

* * *

Keeping Sasuke's direction in her mind, Rena hurriedly headed towards the center of the forest. For some odd reason, she could feel that Orochimaru was waiting for her. This whole battle was just to get her in his grasp. The faster she granted his wish, the shorter this _invasion_ would be.

There was an unusually big plain in the middle of the forest. She realized that was where Orochimaru set up her _surprise_. She didn't know how she should approach the site, but she knew that he was expecting her anyway. Without any hesitation, she stepped in. In the shadow, she could see the same trace of chakra that she had felt in the laboratory. Probably Orochimaru's. Also, she felt another trace of chakra that she had never felt before. However, she could safely assume it was Kabuto's, the most trusted subordinate of Orochimaru.

"My, my. You are here earlier than expected," a cold voice cut through the sheer, almost terrifying silence. She knew this was definitely Orochimaru. "I guess even Sharingans couldn't match up to originals."

Even though she tried not to show it, Orochimaru was delighted to see the woman flinch. There was practically no one who knew so much about her. Her specialty of Byaku-Sharingan.

"I guess you have done your research. I saw your scrolls in the laboratory." Rena calmly stated.

"Did you now? Well, then you should know what I want from you."

Rena, silent, just bit her lips. Judging from Kakashi's story about Orochimaru's ridiculous plan to master all the jutsus, she could easily figure why he had begun to research the ancient demon gods. Rena couldn't help scoffing.

"You really think that you can get me so easily? Even though I am still restrained, I have half of my chakra released. No human being would be able to match this."

"No human being, of course. But _I_'m not intending to fight you."

_What?_ For a moment, Rena was utterly confused about his intention. What was he hiding in his sleeves? Why was he so calm if he knew exactly who she was? She didn't have a good feeling about this. And generally, her intuition was never wrong.

"Well, it's time to start a little reunion."

Rena spun around in Orochimaru's direction, not planning to chit-chat with this maniac. When she headed into the forest, she found much more than just Orochimaru.

In front of her was indeed Orochimaru, standing proudly and smirking at her. But between them were two coffins. One of them had a Chinese symbol of "Wind," and the other coffin had the one of "Earth." Not realizing what was going on, Rena decided to take precaution. Not moving before she knew what she was running into.

Then a familiar trace of chakra started seeping from the coffins. As the chakras intensified, so did Rena's horror. She hasn't felt these chakras for _years_, but she could never forget them. She shouted in horror,

"You couldn't have…."

"Oh, yes, I can. It took me ages to find their bodies and form this jutsu. I almost gave up on them, when I stumbled on them in surprise." A cold smile crossed Orochimaru's face. "I told you it will be a special present."

In Rena's horror, the coffin slowly began to open up. With so much smoke and hiss, she couldn't even see those inside the coffins. But as the dust and smoke began to settle down, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

From the coffin of "Wind," was a man in mid-twenties with silver, spiky hair. Everyone could tell he was someone who enjoyed trouble making and pranks from his expression. Energetic, and mischievous gleam in his eyes, which surprisingly matched with his finely toned figure, was exactly as Rena remembered. He was holding a huge two-handed sword that no one but he had been able to lift.

The other man from "Earth" was also a man in mid-twenties but he had a completely different aura. He looked more like a sage, someone who went through many difficulties and gained invaluable wisdom from what the life and world could offer. His long, jet black hair almost reached the shoulder. The matching eyes were fixed on Rena's. His headband around his forehead blew rather freely in the smoke. In his hand was a trident that, Rena remembered, he hated using unless he was forced to.

As they stepped out of the coffins, Rena heard the name that she never imagined would hear in her lifetime.

"...Suzaku….."

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" The assistant hurriedly rushed to her master. Tsunade, slightly annoyed, looked at her assistant. Disturbing her at the moment like this, this would better be good.

"What? Shizune? I told you not to…."

"Hatake Kakashi-sama has returned from his mission."

OK, so Shizune had a good reason. Tsunade quickly headed to her office, anxious to hear his story.

There weren't a lot of moments when Tsunade lost her words. Well, the moment after she heard Kakashi's news was one of them. She already knew that their mission had been fraud, but she never expected… Sasuke? Orochimaru must be serious about whatever he had wanted, bringing Sasuke to the battlefield. But for some odd reason, Sasuke hasn't turned up in the battlefield yet. According Kakashi's story, it has been nearly half an hour after his encounter with Kakashi. Did that mean Rena was still holding him off?

She knew from Kakashi's face, even though he tried his best to hide, that he was worried about Rena. I mean, she _was_ dealing with Uchiha Sasuke, probably one of the strongest ninja in this world. Rena has been impressive, but could she really win against him? _Oh well,_ Tsunade thought. _He won't be able to concentrate on battles like this._

Tsunade always had a strange feeling that there was something going on between them. For some odd reason, they had a connection between them that no other jounins ever showed with each other. It was as if they knew what other was thinking, which proved to be very helpful in missions. As they got more missions in their hands, the stronger Tsunade felt about this connection. That was why Tsunade made a pair team instead of three-men cell because she had thought that someone new in the group might disturb that connection.

"Kakashi." The man raised his head at the call of his name. "Go into the forest again, and check up on Mizuho Rena." Shizune gave her a surprised look. What the heck was she thinking? Konoha needed every manpower it could possibly offer right now. Even though the invasion wasn't progressing toward the village, the damage was already considerable. And Hokage-sama was sending one of the strongest shinobi of Konoha away? But Tsunade was determined, knowing exactly what she was doing. "You can't return to the village unless you are with Mizuho. Understood?"

Grateful for her new order, Kakashi quickly stepped out of the office. From his hurry, Shizune finally realized what was going on.

"He was worried sick about her, wasn't he?" Tsunade smiled knowingly at her assistant.

"Oh, I wouldn't stop there if I were you."

Tsunade thought about Kakashi's life. His life wasn't exactly the ideal one for anyone. The pain of losing dignity of himself and his father, and also his best friend was a lot more than enough to turn him somewhat distant, not trusting anyone that easily. Sure, he had many friends but there were few whom he had opened up to. She didn't know Rena as well as Kakashi, but according her story, she couldn't have had an easy life either. And she knew the look of Rena's eyes. The expression that couldn't be obtained unless one went through enormous pain and learned how to let it go. Maybe it was this kind of pain that connected two so strongly, and secretly, Tsunade hoped that things would go well between those two. And she was more than enough who had to go through the pain of losing the loved ones in the battle. She couldn't possibly make Kakashi abandon Rena and send him to battlefield. He would never get over it if… if the worst would happen to Rena.

"….sama? Hokage-sama?" Tsunade snapped out of her thoughts. Well, she had to trust Kakashi in this one. It was really unlikely that he would fall in any trouble anyway. She had her own things to worry about. As a Hokage, there was no way that she would endanger her village.

* * *

Even with her best effort, Rena couldn't help but kneel on the ground and cough out blood. This was bad. Worse than she had thought. She knew Orochimaru was an immoral bastard, but for him to go this far. She knew that most people didn't even know ancient history or believe in the existence of demon gods, but she never imagined that someone would actually mock their deaths by making killing dolls out of them!

"Well, it's one hell of a surprise, I have to say." Orochimaru knew that Rena was just pretending to be indifferent. Ever so slightly, her attacks towards those to men were hesitant and it gave his puppets to direct deadly blows. If she was human, she should have died in their unbelievable strength, but she, like Byakku and Genbu, was a demon goddess after all.

Rena tried to focus her eyes, which were becoming dimmer from too much loss of blood. In front of her stood her old friends, Byakku the White Tiger of West and Genbu the Black Tortoise of South. She couldn't help letting out a small laugh in irony. How many times had she wished that they were alive again? How many times had she regretted that she was sealed while they had sacrificed their lives to save this world? There were so many things she wanted to do, to tell them, but when she actually met them, all they wanted to do was to kill her.

She knew it wasn't them. She knew they were just puppets in the appearance of her friends. But still, she couldn't attack them with her full force. Why…?! A stream of tear rolled down her cheek. What has she done to deserve this? All she wanted was peace in this world. A world that everyone could be happy. Because of this pursuit, she lost her loved one, almost lost her friends. But all she got in return was contempt, fear, hatred and betrayals….

She slowly stood up, not looking up. Fast footsteps approached her and she knew it was Genbu from the chakra. He would kill her, she knew. But for some reason… she couldn't move.

………

A deafening silence surrounded the forest. As his trident went through her abdomen, she didn't even scream. Like nothing had happened, she was standing there, her consciousness slipping away to darkness.

...Was she going to die…?

Her mind was drifting away from her body. She could feel it. Down.. down… she was going. To where? Even she didn't know.

When she opened her eyes again, she was surprised to find Byakku and Genbu. Unlike the emotionless countenances that she saw, they were… just like the way she remembered. Hyper and mischievous Byakku was standing there with his hands on his head, smiling. Calm, always kind Genbu was also there, a book in his hand. Despite the situation, she couldn't help laughing. They were here. Just like she remembered. Genbu even had a book in his hand like always!

"Hey, Suzaku." Byakku casually lifted his hand in greeting. Another stream of tear rolled down her cheek. It felt as if nothing had happened. Nothing since the fateful night when they sealed her in order to defeatl Shounu….

As soon as she saw them, she couldn't help it. She broke down on her knees, unable to contain her emotions. When was the last time that she even let go of her emotions like this? She couldn't exactly do that since she was the strong one. She was the one who everyone leaned against for support. She couldn't be weak in front of those people because they needed her.

But deep down, she knew that she needed comfort as well. She needed someone who _she_ can lean onto. As hard as it could be, she was hoping all these years that she could find someone like that. Those two were one of the first people. But it has been many many years since she last saw them. How glad she was to see them again. Either in imagination or real, it didn't matter.

"Why are you crying? It's not like you at all." She looked up to see concerned Byakku and Genbu. Instead of answering, she tightly hugged both of them and continued crying. Genbu tried to calm her down by stroking her hair.

"Why? Why did you leave me like that? Didn't you know how much I regretted not fighting with you ever since that night? Didn't you know how much I was going to miss you? To live in the world alone like this… Not ever opening up to anyone…. It was so hard… It was so difficult."

"……When we sealed you, we didn't expect you to go through all this agony. I'm sorry," said Genbu sincerely. "We… were trying our best to save you. You were like a sister to all of us and… and we didn't have a heart to set you up against… _him_."

She just nodded, understanding their side of concern. In fact, she knew. She already knew why they had to make a choice that they had. But seeing them again just made her want to whine about it. Because she knew that after this encounter, she would never be able to be honest with anyone. No one could know about her identity. It had happened once, and it wasn't pretty.

"Look, Suzaku. I know you're confused about this whole situation. But no matter how much those _things_ look like us, it's not us." Byakku tried to convince her.

"I know! My head is saying that, but… but I can't do it!" She answered, finally calmed down.

"Even though they're just puppets borrowing part of our strength, you can't face them along like this. You will have to unseal." Genbu suggested.

She looked at him wide-eyed. She knew that he wouldn't suggest anything rash. But… _was he crazy?_ There was no way that she would release the final seal!

"You're already mortally wounded. I know my trident the best even though I barely use it. Until long, you might really die, Suzaku since no human medic-jutsu is going to heal that wound. And that's something we really don't want."

"But…"

"Gah, don't say _but_, it's really not like you at all! Where is the hot-headed birdie I used to know?"

"What? Byakku! I told you not to call me hot-headed birdie!"

"Hahaha, now that's more like it. Now go back and show those fakes what you're really capable of!" Byakku suddenly pushed her forward, sending her into the darkness.

"Wait! Will I ever see you again?" She asked.

"You don't need to find us. We will always be by your side," answered Genbu, waving his hand for farewell.

"Wait! There are so many things..." But her voice was buried as the darkness engulfed her.

Rena snapped her eyes open. She could see the wound in her torso. She managed to lift her head just enough to glance at those... _fakes_. They were standing there, waiting for the order. Orochimaru probably thought she had died like this. After all, she stopped bleeding and moving.

She couldn't help smiling bitterly. Not long ago, she accidentally unsealed herself when she had thought her life was in danger. When she was recovered, she knew that something was wrong with her body. Ever so slightly, her body would move a bit slower than she intended. She knew that human body couldn't contain her mass of chakra and she always used special seals that would reduce her chakra by around 1/5. In her recent form, about half of her chakra was released, but would this body be able to handle the full blow? She wasn't sure, but it was better than die like this.

Orochimaru was shocked to find the woman's head moving. He was pretty sure that she had died. Genbu's trident was famous for its deadly ability of not being able to heal with any kind of medic-jutsu. Oh, no matter. The wound was bad enough. She would die eventually. All he had to do was wait. After her death, he would finally have chance to discover how Suzaku could reconstruct her body for renewal. His method of _immortal_ was also based on the one of the demon gods, but it was so unreliable and there were a lot of risks of failing as well. Once he gets the secret of Suzaku, he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

Then he heard hissing. He jerked his head up and squinted at nearly-dead Rena. The hissing was definitely coming from her. And to his horror, the wound in her abdomen was slowly healing. _But how?_ He thought. _There is no __jutsu__ that could heal such wound!_ Then a horrible realization hit him. He never thought she would actually do _this_. Was she really going to completely unseal herself? That could be bad. He couldn't let that happen in any cost. He might lose the pray that he had been searching for so long.

"Get her!" Genbu and Byakku darted at Rena who hasn't still moved from her spot. But before they could do anything, a stream of chakra jetted from her and whipped them across, throwing them backward. The red chakra was enveloping Rena and Orochimaru couldn't do anything but to watch.

Soon, two majestic, red wings appeared from her backs. The chakra around her formed something that looked like tail from her tailbone. Her ears became pointy and much longer. Her eyes with longer and fuller eyelashes matched those of Kyubbi's. Even her garment changed to the battle suit of Suzaku that could only be seen in the ancient pictures.

The Goddess has descended onto the Earth.

* * *

GAH, this chapter is LONG, I know. This was the chapter that I have been DYING to write. I was sick of giving some clues about her identity, but not really saying it. So there you go. You now know who Mizuho Rena really is. Well, to some extent.:) 


	20. Song of Death

Yay! My creative juice is flowing, which is not very often! But seriously, I want to get over with battle scenes!! I'm horrible at it! This is the scene that I was DYING to get over with, so yeah. After this, some fluffy stuff will be happening. Hee hee.

* * *

Hoping he's not too late, Kakashi quickened his pace. He remembered the encounter with Sasuke. His former student didn't even react when he saw him. In fact, Sasuke looked as if his sould was dead. When Kakashi landed in front of him, he would merely look up. Those black dark eyes held more than desire for revenge. Uncertainty, doubt and... was it regret? Kakashi couldn't tell, but he desperately hoped so. He didn't know what had happened between Rena and Sasuke, but he managed to get the story out of half-dead-shock Sasuke. Apparently, Sasuke's mission was merely to weaken Rena before she would meet Orochimaru. He managed to tell Kakashi that she headed to the center of the forest where Orochimaru was waiting.

But that was it. Even though he gave a vital clue of location, since the forest was so big it was nearly impossible to find _the center_. Besides, he couldn't feel any trace of chakra. Orochimaru probably used some kind of jutsu to conceal his chakra. Nin-dogs weren't helpful either. Thus, he had to find her blindedly. And the more time it took for him to find her, the riskier her life could become. Orochimaru was a very meticulous planner. If he had wanted Rena for some reason, he would have made sure that _nothing_ could get in their way.

Which led to his next question. _What_ could possibly Orochimaru want from her? Even though Rena had completed numerous missions with Kakashi, nothing had to do with the Sound village. The only incidents were when Rena was kidnapped (which no survivor was left to tell him about Rena), and the encounter with Sasuke couple months ago. He doubted that those two would interest Orochimaru to this extent. To invade Konoha to lure out an individual. And to bring out Sasuke like that. What was it about her that made him take so many risks? Was there something about her that no one but Orochimaru knew?

Then Kakashi stopped his thoughts. He had to. He could feel a massive amount of chakra seeping from one o'clock direction. He was certain that there would be a barrier for chakra to seep out like that. But what kind of individual would have so much chakra that it could literally break down a barrier? Holding an uneasy heart, Kakashi changed the direction toward the source of chakra.

* * *

"Fascinating," said Orochimaru. He certainly had never expected this. He was hoping to kill the great goddess and study her corpse to find out the secret of immortality but this was better. Way better. Now that she was indeed the Phoenix of the South in nearly half demon form, his puppets wouldn't even stand a chance. But his lips curled in a small smile. He was Orochimaru after all. When he planned something, he planned for _every_ possibility. And even though he never suspected this would actually happen, he did have a solution to this as well.

Rena, or Suzaku, suddenly felt the ground shaking a little bit. It wasn't earthquake but more like an...

An activated jutsu!

She tried to avoid is as soon as possible, but it was too late. The run on the ground activated and she felt a tremendous pressure on her body. She couldn't help kneeling on the ground, groaning in pain.

"What... what is this?" Suzaku blurted, coughing out blood. She could also feel her chakra slipping. She glanced at the ground. The ground had not one, but _two_ runes intertwined. She recognized one of them.

..._Chakra __absorption__ justsu..._

But for some reason, she couldn't recognize the second jutsu and the reason why she couldn't move a finger. She carefully studied the rune on the ground, hoping to find a clue. Sadly, she could find none.

Rena, somewhat frustrated, growled at Orochimaru. "You dare to think that you can imprison me with this petty jutsu?"

Suddenly, a tremendous amount of chakra was released from her body. One of the runes, which was chakra absorption jutsu, started fading away slightly. Orochimaru couldn't believe his eyes. The purpose of even bothering to write down the fundamental elements of jutsu was to make the jutsu as strong as possible. And here she was, already pushing the jutsu to its limits with sheer chakra force.

But he knew a mere chakra, no matter how much it was, couldn't break the jutsu.

"Ugh." Rena kneeled on the floor, unable to stand against the pressure. She saw Orochimaru sneering at her.

"You seem a bit puzzled, my dear goddess." Rena flinched (even though it was barely visible due to tremendous pressure) at his direct mockery. "This jutsu is something I researched myself from old folk tale: Bankohan."

A piece of memory pierced through Rena's head. Yes, she knew what it was. It was one of the ancient weapons, believed to be destroyed long before civilization was built, that had a incredible power. There were seven of them, and this one had...

A power to control gravity.

Now she knew why she couldn't move a muscle. Of course, this jutsu was a merely poor imitation of the great Bankohan but at least it was doing its job. Rena silently grunted. She knew that her chakra won't be enough to push past the limit of _two _jutsus. She needed some kind of jutsu to erase the runes. She guessed that Orochimaru hadn't expected things to go this far, so this was more like a temporary plan. But still, unable to move her arms let alone her fingers, she was unable to form any jutsus. And time was running out. Even though it was slow, her chakra was running out. It would take long, but she wasn't intending to donate her chakra to that sneaky bastard.

_Think, Rena. Think!_ But there was no other way. She needed outside help. And since no one knew about her location, it was hopeless. Actually, she hoped that no one would come. Because they would see what she really is. And that was the last thing that she wanted.

* * *

"What... What is this?" Kakashi stopped abruptly, gazing at the strange scene. A huge rune on the ground, the incredible amount of chakra, Orochimaru, but most of all...

Was that Rena? Could it be?

But she looked more like... a demon! That couldn't be human. So he wasn't mistaken when he saw her eyes turned like those of Kyuubi's the other day. She was in fact not a human. Then... what was she?

Was she a jinchuuriki? Was it the demon inside her that gave her such quantity of chakra and unique characteristic? He had to admit, when she was in human form (before the seal broke, that is) she was still considered to have a lot of chakra, even more than Naruto. But now that seal is almost broken, he couldn't even fathom the bottom of her chakra stamina. Even Kyuubi's chakra, the one that is considered a chakra tanker, couldn't even match with hers. There was no way that an ordinary human body, even if she was a jinchuuriki, could handle such amount of chakra. Then... _what was she?_

Judging by Orochimaru's explanation, it seemed that Rena couldn't do anything to undo the jutsu. He remembered the runes from his old ANBU lessons. The runes were used before the hand seals were invented. It was a way of controlling the chakra within their bodies. It was considered primitive and used mostly for traps since the runes had disadvantage of immobility. He could guess that this was Orochimaru's last resort and probably didn't think that he would have to use it. If Orochimaru did know that he needed another plan, he would have made more elaborate one. But it seemed to work just fine. For now.

Kakashi realized that Rena couldn't break the runes by herself. He recognized one of the rune, but not the other. But it was enough for him to know that breaking two runes at the same time was nearly impossible. Careful not to be noticed, (even though Orochimaru was so engrossed with Rena that he wouldn't even notice Kakashi right now) Kakashi studied the runes. It was in basic forms. Usually, people used their chakra to engrave the runes on the ground. However, this was just a drawing on the ground. The kind that would be easily erased. He could tell that Orochimaru really didn't plan to use this. This was probably a last defense line.

The trick was to erase the entire rune completely in one blow. Even though he managed to erase some part, if the half of the rune was intact, then the jutsu was still effective. Usually, it would be extremely difficult to erase the runes made by other's chakra, but fortunately, Orochimaru was too careless. He must have guessed that there would be no reinforcement for Rena. Well, he would dearly pay for his mistakes.

* * *

"What?" Orochimaru, who was completely lost in fascination as Suzaku grew weaker by every second, was somewhat annoyed to hear a rumbling sound. But his annoyance became panic when he could tell the sound was coming _toward_ him.

_What__'__s going on? Could there be any reinforcement for her? But who would be crazy enough to save one person when the village is at war?!_

Well, apparently, Kakashi was. To Orochimaru's horror, he saw Kakashi finishing his hand seal behind the tree. But when he found the copy-nin, it was too late.

"Water Dragon Jutsu."

A huge water forming a dragon crashed into him and Rena, wiping everything in its path. The water had more than enough force to erase the entire rune, doodled by Orochimaru. (NOTE: Hahaha, I'm bored and doodling is fun)

Orochimaru spat out a hiss. His grand plan was going amiss. The awakening of Suzaku was definitely a surprise, but he did manage to turn the table. But with these runes gone, he was literally defenseless. He had no one to protect him, assuming that his puppets would be enough. Kakashi was one problem, but facing enraged half-demon goddess was another. There was nothing he could do. He had to retreat this time, no matter what it took. Then he suddenly heard... a song.

La, la, la, la, la, la...

His entire body froze and so did the world. The song, which Suzaku herself was singing, was intoxicating, provocative, yet terrifying. The beautiful melody continued on and he could see the fixed gaze of the goddess. But he saw, behind the enchanting song, the cold anger and horrible consequence that he would face. His eyes widened in fear, desperate for solutions. But his brain couldn't access any information. All his body ever wanted was to continue to listen to this terrifyingly beautiful song.

Orochimaru wasn't the only one who was affected. Kakashi and the entire forest were shaken with her song. The sadness, anger, the terror associated with the song made everyone tremble. The shinobis from Konoha heard the Melody of Sorrow, while the others from Sound heard the Song of Death. The entire army from both sides couldn't fight any longer. Entranced by the song, they were just buried under the melody.

Orochimaru and the shinobis from Sound could feel their life slipping away. As the song progressed, they knew that their life would end once the song was over. But somehow, they weren't afraid. They thought that it would be worth dying if they could hear this stunning voice again. When the song slowly died away, Kakashi was surprised to find Orochimaru slightly smiling.

"I... finally found the ultimate jutsu I was looking for..." He mumbled. And he fell on the ground, never to awake again.

Konoha shinobis were surprised to find their enemies falling like leaves. They never woke up again. Just like that, they were gone from this world.

Rena slowly closed her eyes, letting the wind embrace her. The Song of the Death was a powerful jutsu, something that even she didn't use lightly. The immense fatigue and pain enveloped inside of her and before long, she was losing consciousness.

Kakashi, who was still numb from the shock, snapped out when he saw a small tornado of chakra whirling around Rena until he couldn't see her. He quickly ran to her, anxious to see what could have happened.

To his greatest surprise, he found a young girl, about five years old, with brilliant silver hair lying on the ground.


	21. Forgotten

Kakashi took in a deep breath. Judging by the amount of chakra that she had released, he guessed that this was some kind of consequences of having close-to-none chakra. He tried hard to analyze the situation. From the conversation between Orochimaru and Rena, it was obvious that… that she wasn't human. She was…. Suzaku.

He remembered it from his study in history. Suzaku was one of the great demon gods that was known to be the only living one. But since the goddess hasn't shown herself for so many years, she slowly became forgotten, and the ancient history gradually degraded to mere legends. And here he was, witnessing the very existence of the goddess.

Kakashi was torned. He didn't know what to do. He could definitely tell that Rena, or Suzaku or whatever, didn't want anyone to know about her true identity. She didn't even know that Kakashi had figured out! Then who was he to tell everyone in Konoha? He didn't have the right to do that without Rena's consent. But he couldn't leave her like this! Someone would find her eventually, and begin to question how she was suddenly nine-year-old looking rather than twenty. Things could get complicated if he just left her there. Making a split second decision, Kakashi gently picked up Rena.

* * *

"What do you mean, you don't know anything?!" Tsunade slammed her fist on the desk. "Don't fool with me, Kakashi. I felt it. No, I even saw it! That amount of chakra being released isn't normal. And you were the only who was around that area and you're telling me you don't know anything? And," Tsunade glared at the copy-nin. "Why were you late for the report? You know you should have been here as soon as the invasion was over. What took you so long?" 

Kakashi could withstand the penetrating glare of Hokage. After all, he was one of the strongest ninja in Konoha and a former member of ANBU. Not getting intimidated by an enemy (or Hokage, in this case) was nothing new or hard for Kakashi. Realizing that intimidation wasn't working, Tsunade silently growled. Even though Kakashi was the only one who wasn't fighting with the enemy at that time, she knew that it was possible for Kakashi to not know what exactly had happened in the forest. The strange yet beautiful song, then enemy's sudden death, and Kakashi's fishy-ness. Tsunade rubbed her temple. She could deal with Kakashi later. For now, she had to deal with other stuff, including the unexpected death of Orochimaru.

She knew something unnatural happened in the forest. And she knew Kakashi knew what happened and he was hiding it from her for some reason. And the absence of Rena gave her a bad feeling as well. Kakashi only reported that he was searching the forest for Rena when he heard the song. Immediately, he felt somewhat drowsy, for the lack of better word, and he didn't snap out of it until he saw a huge burst of chakra in the middle of forest. When he got there, he found other shinobis from Konoha and ANBU as well.

Of course, the story was fraud, and Tsunade knew it. According to the reports of other shinobis, Kakashi showed up a lot later. If he really did head to the source of immense chakra like he said he did, then he should have been there in no more than 3 minutes. Instead, he showed well after about 15 minutes after the incident. What was he doing during that time lap? Well, she couldn't make Kakashi speak so she decided to wait. One day, he will run out of lies and have no choice but to tell the truth. All she had to do was just be patient and wait.

* * *

Closing the front door, Kakashi sighed deeply. That was one of the phoniest lies he has ever made and he knew it. He could also tell that Tsunade saw it right through (It would be surprising if anyone didn't). But he had no choice. He still didn't know what to do with the truth that he had found out. He decided to not tell anyone, even Hokage, until Rena regained consciousness so that they can discuss the matter together. 

When he entered his room, he was surprised to find Rena awake. She was sitting in the bed, blankets pulled up to her chin. She looked fine except….. frightened? Was that fear in her eyes?

"Wh…. Where am I?" Rena asked.

Kakashi just smiled. Of course. She's never been here before! No wonder she doesn't know where she is. But her next question left Kakashi dumbfounded for a long time.

"And…. And who are you?"

Unable to answer the question, Kakashi just gaped at her. Amnesia? She didn't remember who he was? Trying to maintain his calm, he introduced himself. Then Rena looked worried due to Kakashi's expression.

"You… you seem to know who I am…… Can you explain me who I was? I… I can't remember anything about myself."

Kakashi buried his face in one hand. The worst scenario, which he didn't even think about, was coming alive. When he needed her advice the most, she woke up with blank head! What the heck was he supposed to do now?!

Rena didn't seem to know what she was supposed to do. She could figure out that this man was really despaired that she couldn't even remember her name. But there was no choice but to figure out one by one.

Kakashi, finally able to calm down, introduced himself and sat on the bed. "_You_ are Mizuho Rena and…." He stopped. Did he have to tell that she was also Suzaku? He decided against it. She will figure out someday and he didn't want to tell her until then. "And… you were my partner for missions."

"What? How? I'm only nine years old!"

Kakashi, for another time, couldn't believe what he was hearing. So not only she lost entire memory, but she also believed that she was nine?! This was getting more ridiculous.

"Trust me, it will make sense once you remember."

Secretly, Kakashi hoped that it would make sense to her because it didn't to him.

* * *

"Ena?" 

"No, Rena. Mizuho Rena."

"But I like Ena better!" Rena pouted. As frustrating as it was to teach her own name, Kakashi couldn't help smiling at her cuteness. Even though she was the same Rena, he couldn't possibly think that Rena that he used to know was actually like this. Maybe she was right. She _was_ a different individual, he could say. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to name her Ena. But he quickly crossed that out of his mind. No matter how weird it was, this was Rena and he was going to stick with it.

"And second rule, you can't go outside."

Rena gaped at him open-mouted. "No outside? Why?!"

Kakashi sighed. He's… never been good with kids. He never had nephews or nieces or cousins when he was little. His father and mother were both only child. So he had no experience dealing with kids and he had to say it was more difficult than he imagined.

"Rena, there are a lot of people looking for you out there. If.. If you get caught, these scary looking people will ask you lots of questions that you will have to answer. And.. And I really don't want you to be in that situation. I know it's hard to understand, but you will get it later."

Sadly, Rena nodded her head. Kakashi kindly put his hand on her head. _It must be hard for her_, he thought. She just woke up without any memory of herself or anything and now she was stuck here with him for no reason, and she was just banned to go out of this house.

Looking at his face, Rena slowly smiled. "You're really nice." She blurted out.

Kakashi was surprised at her remark. Was he nice? He really didn't know. He tried to be civil to others to avoid conflicts, but he never considered himself _nice_. But he was glad that someone thought that he was. Coming from ANBU and everything, he never had close friends. Until Iruka and Rena came along, that is.

Rena spun around, swishing her beautiful, silver hair. He couldn't help thinking how brilliant and mesmerizing it was. Sure, his hair was technically silver too, but her hair was closer to white than gray like his. In the night, it reminded him moonlight.

"But I really wanted to go see this town…." She murmured.

Kakashi knew what she meant. If she lost her memory of herself, that meant she didn't remember anything about Konoha either. The only place she knew so far was this house and getting out of it unnoticed was nearly impossible unless…..

"Hey." Rena's amber eyes fixed on Kakashi as he called. He slowly licked his lips. Was he sure about this? If they got caught, things could get messy. But oh well, he could break some rules for now.

"I think I have an idea."

* * *

"All right. Now, remember you have to act accordingly, OK?" 

Rena eagerly nodded her head, eyes full of excitement. It was almost New Years, so Konoha streets were already full of decoration and the spirit of New Years. Also, just getting their village saved sure boosted people's spirits. Excited, Rena kept looking around different direction, wishing that she had about eight eyes. Kakashi, on the other hand, just wished that no one he knew would….

"Eh? Kakashi sensei?" Kakashi somewhat froze at the familiar voice. Out of all the people, he had to see _them_?! He turned around to find Naruto and Sakura.

"Hi, how are you doing? It sure is nice out here now, isn't it?" Kakashi greeted them rather nervously.

"Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura, pointing at Rena. Kakashi just _knew_ that Sakura would notice in no time.

"I didn't know you had a cat."

"Ah, I found it at my door after today's.. mission. I was too tired at that time so I let her in. I'm trying to find her owner right now."

"Aw, she's so cute." Sakura extended her hand and began to pat her. Rena, thank god, mewed and growled affectionately just like a cat. Maybe a bit _too_ much like a cat. "I've never seen a silver cat around here though."

Kakashi's heart dropped. This was the best that Rena could do. It took about half an hour for her to even transform into a decent looking cat. But she had silver fur and golden eyes. He just hoped that no one would find it too weird.

Kakashi just shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't either, but I'm sure I will be find the owner."

"Heh, she is really cute," said Naruto, continuing to pat Rena. Naruto and Rena stared at each other for a long time. Fearing that Naruto might notice her (even though there was no way), Kakashi quickly pulled away. Forgetting her act, Rena growled rather annoyingly.

"Well, have fun. I will go look around the owner," said Kakashi, waving his hand.

Actually, transforming Rena into a cat turned out to be a pretty good idea. Rena didn't seem to mind that she didn't have to walk (because she was in Kakashi's arms). Whenever she wanted something, either food or toys, she gently bit Kakashi's finger to get his attention. Whenever he looked down, he found Rena giving all excited 'I-Want-That-Thing' look. Kakashi, trying to keep himself from laughing, gladly bought whatever she wanted.

When they got home, Kakashi carefully let her on the floor. "Now you can undo your transform." Rena seemed somewhat nervous. Getting into a cat took about half an hour, and she had no idea how to get back. She closed her eyes and wished for the best.

"Eh?" Rena stared at Kakashi, confused. Her transformation was obviously semi-undone. Her tail and ears were still there. Her eyes still looked like cats' and she couldn't stand up and had to stay all four like a cat. Kakashi sighed as Rena used back of her hand to scratch her face.

It took nearly another half an hour to get most of her transformation undone. Her ears still looked like cats, but they were too tired and hungry to care. Kakashi opened all the food that he bought. Squealing with joy, Rena began to dig in. Her cat ears twitched happily.

"You sure did seem to like Naruto a lot," said Kakashi with a hint of tease.

"Nawuro?" repeated Rena with mouthful of food.

"You know, the blond kid that we met there."

Snapping out of her happiness, she quickly finished the food in her mouth. "I, I don't know why but I think I saw him before. Do I know him?"

"Naruto? Yes, you, Naruto and Sakura (she was the one with Naruto) were in the same team."

"Really?"

Kakashi nodded. Rena continued to chug down her food. "I don't know. I just felt like I knew him so well. More than friends, that is." She just shrugged. "I guess I will remember soon enough."

Feeling full and content, both of them began to feel sleepy. There was one bed, since Kakashi lived alone. And there was no way either of them sleep on the couch since it was freezing and he didn't have a spare blanket.

Rather awkwardly, both Rena and Kakashi got on bed. But as they got closer, it turned out to be not as half bad as they expected. Rena immediately fell asleep. Kakashi, looking down at the young girl sleeping at his side, couldn't help thinking that his life would be pretty interesting with her.


	22. New Friend

Sorry for somewhat late update. My labtop crashed after **a week I bought it.** I got really frustrated so I decided to change it to Window XP instead of Vista.

So far, I'm loving it WAY better. Guh, I had so much trouble with Vista.

* * *

Indeed, Kakashi's life has changed completely. He had to buy a complete set of outfits for the newcomer (His shirts were way too big and it looked way too wrong). Now he had to actually _care_ what he ate, because he wasn't the only one eating. And he had someone to tell stories of his mission or training everyday.

But despite all this, whenever Rena smiled at him in gratitude or jumping up and down in joy or sleeping peacefully in his bed, Kakashi couldn't help feeling that all his trouble was worth it.

He had already taken care of mysterious absence of Rena. Using his Sharingan, he forged a letter from Rena saying that she was tracking down a band of shinobis from Sound who escaped the war. Of course, it wasn't true, but it was better than telling Hokage that somehow she lost her memory _and_ became about 10 years younger.

"Kakashi, Kakashi." He felt a familiar tug of his vast. Looking down, he found concerned looking Rena.

"Are you going out for mission again?" asked Rena.

Kakashi sighed. He hated answering this question. Because of the damage inflicted not only by Orochimaru, but also Suzaku's release of chakra, all the shinobis were called to trivial mission everyday. Kakashi couldn't find any excuse so he was out all day. Kakashi gently put his hand on Rena's head.

"I'm sorry, Rena. As soon as the village is fixed, I will be able to stay here for a while."

"But what am I supposed to do here? I can't even go outside!" Rena protested.

True, probably due to lack of chakra, Rena couldn't even perform the simplest nin-jutsu. He remembered how it took about 2 days to get the transformation jutsu to completely wear out. Until then, Rena was stuck with cat ears. And that was _with_ Kakashi's help. He just couldn't imagine Rena transform into something perfect on her own.

It was also true that she had nothing to do. Because Kakashi didn't spend whole lot of time in his house, it was pretty bare. His library contained Icha Icha Paradise series, so she couldn't even read any of his books, for her own good and his. He felt bad that he had to leave her in such boring place but he had no choice.

Kakashi felt a tight embrace on his leg. "Don't go," Rena whispered. Her voice was trembling as if she were about to cry. "I don't want to be here alone anymore. I'm so lonely."

Kakashi felt a pang in his heart. No matter what the situation was, seeing Rena cry was the last thing that he wanted to see. He let the hands go, and sat in front of her. Thick tears were rolling down her cheeks. Kakashi put his hand to wipe them off. Rena looked at him guiltily. She knew that doing this would only make him feel bad, but she just couldn't control her emotion.

"Sorry. I know you can't help it." Rena mumbled.

Kakashi smiled sadly. "I promise I will be back as soon as my mission is done. Then, we can go out to the town for New Year's Eve, how does that sound?"

Excited, Rena eagerly nodded her head. It's been a bit over a week since she stepped out of the house. Glad that he was able to lift her mood up, he waved at her as he walked out. When he closed the door, suddenly, it felt weird to have someone waiting for him at his house.

* * *

"Bbbbbbooooooorrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnnngggggggg." Rena threw herself on the bed. She already watched TV, but there was nothing good on. She was getting better at cooking so she could make herself a decent lunch. Since she didn't have anything else to do, she decided to step out at the balcony and enjoy a beautiful winter day.

She sadly remembered that today was New Year's Eve. She wondered if she had family. Kakashi said that she didn't as far as he knew. She concentrated to remember anything about her family when pigments of images came through her mind.

She saw three men. By her side were two who had jet black and silver hair just like her. She was surprised to remember that she was an adult too. When she looked past them, she saw one of the most beautiful men she saw.

He was about 6 feet tall with mid-shoulder length, sky-blue shaggy hair. His dark blue eyes were so deep that they reminded her of an ocean. His robe, which looked like a tunic, was also blue but not as lightly shaded as his hair. He extended his hand to her and she also extended her hand rather sheepishly. Rena really wished she could see her face, how she looked like as an adult. But all she could do was re-experience what she already had. As their hands united, the other men cheered in happiness. She could feel that she was happy too. When she looked at the man, she felt enormous warmth and love coming from his eyes. She too felt the same for him. And she vowed to herself to keep him from harm no matter what…..

Rena snapped out of her dream. She breathed hard. She knew it wasn't a dream, but that memory felt like it was really long time ago that it almost felt like a dream. What… What could this mean? She had a lover, that was for sure. But she never remembered anyone with blue hair in Konoha. Besides the way that the men were dressed weren't…. contemporary. It was probably at some kind of ceremony. Rena sat down in sunlight and closed her eyes, trying to remember more. But the vision never came back.

* * *

"Sensei! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, banging on the door. It was already mid-afternoon. His team has already finished the mission, so he was going to call Kakashi-sensei if he could help training.

Not hearing any answer, Naruto decided to peek into the house. He knew that Kakashi sometimes didn't answer the door because he was too busy reading his books. That wouldn't stop Naruto though. Hurriedly, he headed to the balcony at the other side of balcony.

"………!!!!!!!"

Naruto's and Rena's eyes met. After a brief silence, Rena quickly stood up and took a big step toward the house.

"Not so fast!" Naruto extended his hand and grabbed whatever he could, which was her hair.

"Ow! That hurts!"

"Ooops! Sorry!" Naruto let go of the hair but he still marveled at the beautiful silver hair. It shone brightly under the sunlight and her exotic golden eyes reminded him of someone.

….She really oddly looked like Rena.

The girl seemed to show curiosity as well because she didn't run away this time. Naruto just invited himself to take a seat beside her.

"I didn't say you could sit there," the girl said.

"Yeah? I don't need your permission for that, do I?"

"I guess not." And she was silent.

Naruto tried to remember this girl, but he was pretty darn sure that he's never seen her. Then why was she in Kakashi's apartment? Could she be his niece or something?

"Oi, what's your name?"

The girl flinched as if she's been stung by a bee. She was fidgeting for a long time before she answered, "Ena."

"Ena? That's a weird name."

"Well, your name is weird too! It's the one from ramen!" Ena blurted out.

"Wait, you know my name?"

Rena flinched again. She had been too careless. She forgot that the only time Naruto saw her was when she was a cat. Yeah, it wouldn't be a good idea to let him know that.

"Hm, I guess Kakashi sensei talked about me since I'm so amazing. By the way, are you his niece or something?"

Ena thought for a while, and figured that it would be the best excuse. "Yeah."

"Why are you staying here? It's New Year's Eve!"

Ena didn't answer for a long time. Finally, she said, "I…. am grounded."

Naruto's attention immediately grew. For her to get grounded, she was absolutely up to no good. And when it came to pranks and "up-to-no-good", there was no one to follow Naruto.

"Heh, for what?"

"Well…. Ka… I mean, my _uncle_ was too busy reading his books. So I decided to hide them in the closet and he wasn't so happy." This time, it was a bit easier to say it because it was the truth.

Naruto roared laughter. He's been dying to pull that for a long time. He was glad that someone actually dared to hide Kakashi's Icha Icha Paradise series.

"Was he really mad?"

Ena just nodded her head. She remembered the moment pretty well. Having no idea where else, she decided to shove all the books in the closet. Kakashi, not having the slightest idea, had some pleasant visit to the closet to pick up his stuff. Kakashi _did_ get mad, but obviously, that wasn't the reason why she was stuck home. Actually, she didn't know herself why she was stuck home. But she trusted Kakashi's judgment and didn't want to disobey him.

"So why don't you head out to town with me?" said Naruto, standing up to stretch his arms.

Ean slowly but defiantly shook her head. As much as it sucked to be home on New Year's Eve, she didn't want to worry Kakashi. "If I get caught, I will get grounded longer. I don't want to be home on New Year's." She explained her reason.

"Then can't you transform yourself?" Naruto suggested.

Remembering her.. _horrible_ transformation jutsu last time, Ena shook her head vigorously. "I'm… I'm not a shinobi so I can't use any nin-jutsus."

Naruto was surprised to learn that the relative of Kakashi, one of the strongest ninja in Konoha, wasn't a shinobi. Well, just because she was Kakashi's relative, she didn't have to be a shinobi. Suddenly, he wondered if any of his family members was a shinobi. Unfortunately, he would never find out.

"Hey, I know. I can transform _for_ you!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You can?!" Ena's eyes filled with excitement. Naruto, who just forgot to mention that he's only done it with his summoned toad, was excited as well to be finally appreciated.

Ena was so happy that she couldn't even speak. It's been so long since she stepped out of this house. Then she wondered why Kakashi hadn't done this earlier. If Naruto could do it, Kakashi should be able to do this. Then why not?

Naruto and Ena held their hands to help connect the flow of chakra. When Ena felt something squirming inside of her consciousness, she instinctively pushed it out.

"Hey, if you didn't notice, I'm trying to help you!" said Naruto annoyed.

"Oops, sorry." Ena took a deep breath, trying to relax.

The same chakra flow came in more than enough force. Ena winced at such large quantity of chakra flowing into her mind. When the chakra flow was in her entire body, Naruto exclaimed, "Transform!"

With a puff, Naruto let go of Ena's hand. He wondered how she would look like… Actually, he knew how she'd look like.

When the smoke was gone, there stood a girl that just looked like…. Naruto's Sexy No Jutsu, _except_ that she actually had clothes. (Thank goodness) Ena took out a mirror and looked at her new appearance.

"I just look like you." Ena commented.

"Yeah, you have a problem with that?"

"Well, people might think I'm your sister or something." Ena joked.

Naruto felt sudden warmth in the corner of his heart. Looking at this girl who just looked like him (except the cheek marks) it did make him oddly feel like she was a sister. Naruto quickly shook the thought out of him. It was a long time ago before he gave up on the hope of finding out or meeting his family. But still, he could enjoy this moment a while.

"Here." Naruto extended a hand to her. "I can't let my little sister get all around the town by herself, right?"

Ena, with big smile, took his hand gratefully.

* * *

"Where could she be?!" The man abruptly stood up. The woman beside him gave him a side glance. It wasn't often to see this agitated Pein.

"I definitely felt her few weeks ago. Now, nothing. What is the deal with her? She came _so _close of revealing her demon form. But instead, she decided to pull back?" Pein continued angrily. "What does she think humans are? In what does she believe? What kind of _goodness_ can she find from those vermin? She should know that we are far superior than any human beings. Instead, she's covering herself up to _get along_ with them. She makes me sick." Pein spat out.

He began to head outside, where it was still raining. "I'm heading to Konoha. Who knows? She might be hiding there, waiting for me to strike."

Konan interrupted. "You know _he_ won't like it when you act on your own without his consent."

Pein scoffed. "Oh, please. He's just a blind bat, that's all."

A small tornado formed around him and when the tornado engulfed him, he was gone.


	23. Jinchuuriki

Naruto and Ena walked around the street excitedly when the weather suddenly started to get foul.

"Huh? That's weird. It never rains here." Naruto murmured.

Ena tensed as soon as she felt the chakra. She was positive that she's never felt it before, but for some odd reason, this very faint chakra from these clouds felt familiar. Who knows? This could hold some clue for her lost past.

Naruto, who felt the chakra as well, held onto Ena's hand tightly. "Don't go far away from me," he suggested. "I don't like the feeling of this."

Ena didn't say anything in return, but looked at the clouds worriedly. She didn't have a good feeling about this either. For the first time, she really wished to be with Kakashi than anyone else.

As if he belonged in the shadow, he glided through people effortlessly. People didn't even seem to notice this stranger. He stopped in the middle of street, gazing intensely at one child. The blond hair, blue eyes. The boy who resembled the man he hated so much. Then he was surprised at his own emotion. He was angry? Why would he be?

He shook the thought out of his head. Those cheek marks were unmistakable. The boy was jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto. His lip curled into small smirk. Yes, the demon inside that boy would soon be his and he, Pain, would teach the world the true meaning of pain and fear.

When the girl who was holding the boy's hand, whom Pain didn't even notice until then, suddenly turned around and their eyes met for a brief moment.

The split second of silence had created lots of unasnwered questions. Pain couldn't help wondering who the girl might be. She shared the same characteristic of chakra as the jinchuuriki, but it was impossible! He had no parents or siblings. Then who could this be? The surprised blue eyes told him that for some mysterious reason, the girl could see him.

Ena immediately froze when she saw the stranger. Those black eyes had so much darkness that it looked like she was getting sucked into a different dimension. Before she was nearly going to lose the consciousness, Ena pulled herself out of the darkness, trembling violently.

Pain was quite impressed with the girl's ability. Somehow she was able to resist his jutsu. Since she already saw him, it would be inevitable before she told anyone about it so he was going to get into her consciousness and erase her memory. Pain decided not to care. That kind of struggle from the jutsu would have completely drained the girl's chakra. Sooner or later, the girl would be unconscious and won't remember anything.

As he glided away from the two, he could hear Naruto's desperate call, "Ena! Ena!"

Ena… Pain thought. It was a name to be remembered.

* * *

"Ka, Kakashi sensei!" 

At Naruto's urgent cry, Kakashi spun around. He was worried to death because of disappearance of Rena. Could someone have figured it out and kidnapped her?

But when he saw a blond-haired girl who resembled Naruto so much, Kakashi understood the situation immediately. Without even questioning Naruto, he bellowed, "YOU TOOK HER OUTSIDE?!"

Naruto halted. But he wasn't the only surprised one. Kakashi blankly stared at him as if he just woke up from dream. Was that really him? Losing composure and shouting like that? He couldn't believe how much shaken he had become because of Rena.

Naruto remembered that Ena was grounded in the first place. But he had to take care of ill conditioned Ena first. Then he could get whatever punishment he deserved.

"She just collapsed while she was walking the street with me. And she doesn't seem well."

Kakashi decided to get back on Naruto later. He could see that she somehow successfully…. Wait a minute.

"Naruto." Naruto flinched as he heard the different tone of Kakashi's voice. "How come I can feel _your_ chakra in her body?"

"Well….." Naruto explained what he had done.

"Naruto, did you pay attention to the classes? You should know that sharing one's chakra with others like that is _extremely_ dangerous!"

"What? But I was fine with toad boss!" Naruto protested.

"Unless you have a special bond (like the one with your summoned monsters) or the person is your family who also has your characteristic of chakra, it's nearly suicidal to share the chakra like that."

Kakashi was just so relieved and amazed at the sheer luck of the situation. He assumed that she wasn't technically human, she could get away with this.

Chakra transfusion was extremely dangerous and considered nearly impossible. It was supposed to be conducted only when someone was dying from lack of chakra and only by close relative because it could improve the chance of success tiny bit.

Kakashi sighed and picked her up. Not only she was having a minor rejection to Naruto's chakra, but she has been drained out of Naruto's chakra as well. It seemed that she was struggling from someone else's chakra. He could feel other person's chakra slightly, but he couldn't tell who it was from.

Rena's rejection to chakra showed as symptoms of flu. Luckily, Kakashi didn't have to explain a lot to Naruto (not that he would understand the explanation).

"Hm, I guess it was too much to expect for you to remember your lesson. Don't worry, she will be fine." Kakashi forced a smile. "She's just got a cold, I bet."

Naruto fidgeted a while and murmured, "I'm sorry."

Kakashi relaxed from his anxiety and put his big hand on Naruto's head. "I said don't worry. I guess she missed outside anyway. So you gave her a treat and I'm grateful to you. Now, why don't you go home and get ready for New Years. I will tend her from now on."

Naruto, forming a little smile, eagerly asked, "Can I visit her tomorrow?"

Kakashi was surprised to see his former student taking a like to her. Well, Rena seemed to remember him a bit as well. Come to think of it, before she lost her memory, even though Rena and Naruto had barely seen each other, there always seemed to be a special bond between them. Maybe that was what saved Rena's life right now.

"Sure." Kakashi answered. It wouldn't hurt her to have a friend. Or Naruto, in that case.

Waving his hand, Naruto was quickly out of sight.

* * *

"Hah, but what am I supposed to do?" Kakashi groaned in frustration.

He brought Rena to the bed, all right. But that was where he got stuck. She definitely had a fever. She had a flushed face and sweat. Her breaths were shallow and fast.

Well, he couldn't afford to get her in the hospital, in a fear that she might get back to normal while she was there. Hokage-sama was out of question, since she was the one he wanted to keep the secret from.

Then he had only one choice.

"So who is this girl again?" asked the girl rather annoyed.

"Well, she is my brother's wife's cousin's nephew." Kakashi cooly answered.

_O__h, him and his lame excuses_. Sakura rolled her eyes. Frankly, she didn't really care, but she couldn't help being curious for the reason he asked for her secrecy. He told her not to tell anyone, especially Hokage-sama. Who could this girl….?

……… A horrible thought crossed her mind. Well, Kakashi wasn't exactly an ideal role model, with that strange book and everything. Sakura now knew exactly what kind of books they were. He seemed to be getting along with Jiraiya-sama who was obsessed with girls, with clothes or none. And there was a girl in his house that he wanted to keep secret.

Sakura gave a side glance to Kakashi. She couldn't be… his prostitute?! Well, he had better sense of judgment than that, right? I mean… He should be jounin for a reason! Right? Right?!

Looking at Sakura flustering (even though she's trying to hide it), Kakashi figured that Sakura was getting carried away. And he had a decent idea about the direction she was going to.

"Whatever you're thinking, that's not it. I told you she's my sister's husband's nephew." Kakashi blurted it out with awkwardness.

Sakura couldn't help laughing. If he was becoming this awkward, then she could trust him. "I thought you said she was your brother's wife's cousin's nephew."

The instant he heard the tone of Sakura's voice, he knew that she was going to help him. Grateful for Sakura's trust and cooperation, Kakashi just laughed with her.

When Sakura entered the room, she stopped for a brief moment. On the bed was one of the most beautiful girls she has ever seen. The silver hair was flowing rather madly on the bed sheet and she didn't look so well, but the delicacy of her features just astounded Sakura.

"So… can you do something about this?" Sakura snapped out of her daydream. She professionally checked the girl's temperature and body condition. It was definitely a rejection to foreign chakra and the girl's exhausted condition didn't help at all. But there was something else that she couldn't quite point her finger to. There was some kind of restless movement within her body, but for what reason Sakura couldn't tell.

Sakura grabbed few medicine herbs from her bag and gave them to Kakashi. "You were right. These are the symptoms of chakra rejection. If you make a tea and make her drink this every night, the fever will go down at least. But chakra rejection isn't something I can take care of. The body itself kind of has to let it all out in ways of fever, sweat etc. But since there doesn't seem to be a lot of chakra left, she should be fine tomorrow-ish."

Kakashi thanked her as Sakura left. He sat down by the side of the bed, watching Rena worriedly. Then her eyelids slightly fluttered. When Kakashi was wondering if he was hallucinating, her eyes slowly opened, hazed in fever. "Ka….. Kakashi…..?"

"Rena, how are you feeling?"

"….Crummy." Rena slowly sat up while Kakashi quickly came to an aid. He could feel her high body temperature, but at least she was conscious. When she looked for water, Kakashi quickly gave her the tea. Looking at it, she frowned. "What is this?"

"It's a tea that Sakura made. It will help your fever down."

"Sakura……" Rena got into a deep thought. "She's… the one with pink hair right?" Kakashi nodded. "Do I have to drink this?" Another nod. Rena frowned as she smelled not-so-nice-sweet-smelling tea. Closing her eyes rather tightly, Rena finished the tea in one big gulp.

"Ewwwwwwwwwww." Rena spat out as soon as she was done with the tea.

"Well, good medicines are not always tasty," said Kakashi, taking the cup from her.

Rena's eyes instantly closed about halfway. Rubbing her eyes, Rena warily asked, "I guess that tea had some kind of sleeping medicine, huh?"

Kakashi nodded, remembering Sakura's explanation. "The best way to get the fever down is to sleep." He added, heading to the kitchen.

Then he suddenly heard a sharp yelp from the bedroom. Surprised, Kakashi turned around, knocking down all the pots and glasses that were sitting on the kitchen counter. Cursing under his breath (which is not often), Kakashi tried his best to dodge all the broken glass shards and pots. By the time he got to the bedroom, an odd silence was in the room instead of scareming, which made him uneasier.

"Rena?" He asked. But there was no answer. Instantly fearing for her health, he frantically found the light switch and turned it on.

He froze as he saw what lied before his eyes. Rena was…. all right, he guessed. But her pants were too short, her shirt was too small and suddenly she took a lot more room in his bed.

For some reason, he was looking at Rena who aged about 5 years at once.

* * *

Pain stared out the window, still raining, deep in his thought. He felt a familiar presence behind him. He turned around to see the beautiful woman with blue hair standing there. 

"Konan…." He murmured. The woman quickly came to his aid. Rubbing his temple, he whispered. "I met this strange girl in Konoha…."

Konan was surprised to hear Pain starting an idle conversation. He certainly wasn't someone who would talk about a girl he met on street.

"I was using my shadow jutsu to hide among people. No one, I mean no one, would be able to notice me unless… unless they were familiar with my chakra or they had an extraordinarily keen senses. And that girl… When I stopped to observe the jinchuuriki, she looked right at in my eyes. Those… those amber…"

Suddenly Pain stood up, obviously very excited all of sudden. "Amber eyes… Out of all the colors… It _had_ to be amber. Come to think of it, all I could feel in that girl's body was that jinchuuriki's. That cunning bitch. She disguised herself as his sister _and_ made her chakra similar to that boy's." Pain scoffed. "She could only do it to that jinchuuriki since…"

Suddenly, the door swung open. Pain frowned a little for an unexpected interruption. But the news that the messenger brought certainly lifted his mood a bit.

The eight-tailed bijuu has just been successfully sealed within his sanctuary. Now all he had left was Kyuubi. And it couldn't be any easier because he knew exactly where it was.


	24. Happy New Year

"Ha..." Rena slowly sat up, holding her head in her hand. Kakashi, who was standing there, not believing what had just happened, did nothing but gape at her.

"What are you staring at? You look like you've seen a ghost," said Rena.

Kakashi realized that the appearance wasn't the only thing that has changed. For some reason, her personality became more so like... herself. She wasn't a kid anymore. Hopefully, she gained her memory back as well!

"So.. you know who I am?" Kakashi asked somewhat stupidly. Rena looked back at him as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Are you OK, Kakashi? You sound like... you've been hit in your head or something." Rena gingerly stood up. When her eyes turned to the floor, her movement stopped. Slowly, she raised her head to Kakashi, who was still in shock. "Oh," said Rena. "Now I know why."

Rena hurriedly kicked Kakashi out of the room. Not knowing why, Kakashi asked but all he got was, "Just prepare dinner, please. I'm starving."

After couple minutes, Kakashi almost dropped the small plate that he was using to check the taste of the food. Rena came out of the room in... somewhat bare look. The best way to describe was super-short mini black dress. Kakashi tried his best to look away. When she was a kid, it was OK but now she looked more like 14 or 15 year-old and that was _totally_ a different story.

Sensing his uneasiness, Rena murmured an apology. "I don't have whole lot of chakra for this. So I'll probably have to go buy some clothes."

"So, your chakra is back as well?" asked Kakashi, putting down the rice and other plates for her. Rena nodded.

"Just enough to perform couple jutsus. It will take a while to get all my chakra back."

"...What about your memory?" Kakashi carefully asked, not sure if she wanted to tell him.

"Well, you know now that I have memories of my recent two months in Konoha. And..." She stopped for a while. "That's about it."

Kakashi could tell she was lying. Was it because she lived with him, even if she was a moderately different individual? He could tell her emotions and body languages better. Her small facial expressions, which he would have missed in the past, were blatantly obvious to him now. And for some reason, he knew exactly what she was hiding.

"And you're not a human?"

Rena froze, a shock electrifying her entire body. Kakashi realized that he was dead on. While he was waiting for the answer, he was unexpectedly attacked.

"Gh..." Kakashi groaned in surprise. He should have thought about this. Even though she lost her chakra, Rena was one of the best tai-jutsu user. Even though she didn't have much strength, her speed and agility was superb. Kakashi's body was immediately pinned to the wall, one of his hand twisted in the back.

Rena breathed hard, in anticipation and nervousness. She knew she had an element of surprise, but it wouldn't last long. She had to use chakra to hold up Kakashi in place and she didn't have a lot of it. This interrogation had to be quick. Every second counted.

"How did you find out? Did Orochimaru tell you?"

"Gaaahhh... No."

"Then _tell _me! How did you find out? Why are you keeping me here? Are you trying to blackmail me somehow? Just to let you know, that's not going to work. If I have to choose my identity and you, I will have to choose the former."

"I... I saw you during the battle with Orochimaru..." Kakashi barely spat out, unable to feel his arm. He could have taken care of her easily. He was attacked in surprise, but he could feel that Rena's chakra was dissipating in quick rate. But he didn't want to attack her because it would only prove her doubt and that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted her trust from her heart, not from force.

"When... when you passed out after that jutsu, I didn't know what to do. But since you were a kid at that time, I didn't think taking you to Hokage-sama would be appropriate. I thought they might find out and I didn't want them to..."

"Why, so that you can use it against me?!"

Kakashi really wished he had better talking skill. He was an introvert in some way and he was really bad at explaining. Especially about himself. But he dearly needed that skill or his arm would fall off soon.

"NO! I didn't want everyone to know who you are without your consent! I didn't know you lost your memory at that time! Once I _did _find out, what choice did I have? I just had to take care of you before your memory was back! If I really wanted to blackmail you, I could have left you when I knew your memory was gone."

Her grip loosened. Kakashi quickly untwisted his arm, feeling his blood flowing back. Rena took couple steps back. "I... I don't know... I don't know what I'm going to do. I've never had..."

Kakashi instinctively hugged the trembling teen tightly. "Don't worry. I promise I won't tell anyone. You can count on it. And you can stay here as long as you wish."

Rena slumped into Kakashi's arm, "Thank you," she said. Then sheepishly, she added, "and I'm sorry."

* * *

"What... what do you mean? Amber? But I thought you said..."

"Yes, yes. I _did_ say she was blond and had blue eyes just like jinchuuriki." Pain couldn't believe how people could be so stupid sometimes. "But... I know it for sure now. I saw her shadow under her presence. I felt her. I wasn't sure if it was because I was in Konoha. I mean, that's her village after all and she stayed there for quite a while. Now, I'm sure that it _was_ her. Besides, that jinchuuriki doesn't have any family. He must have been protecting her from me. That damn kid."

Pain paced himself to the window. Konan knew that he was on his way to Konoha.

"By the way, why don't you prepare a prison for one?"

Konan stared at him questioningly.

"Think about this. The last thing Suzaku wants is me invading Konoha. Yet, when I entered the village I met no resistance whatsoever. Also," A small smile was across his face. "why do you think she had to be protected by that jinchuuriki in a child form?"

Konan couldn't answer the exact question that was lingering in her mind. Does that mean Pain somehow figured out?

"I know what jutsu she used to destroy not only Orochimaru but also the entire Sound Village army. It's called Song of Death. It's one of the ancient jutsus that were never passed down onto human. The singing itself requires some kind of natural ability in the voice since it needs to have some quality to draw people in. That's why no one ever has been able to perform this jutsu. But this jutsu, as powerful as it is, it requires an in comprehensible amount of chakra. If any human attempted this, then they will certainly die after this. But since she technically does have an unlimited chakra and she's immortal, she didn't die. But instead, she was forced into a form of child."

Pain was already by the window and he was ready to go. He couldn't believe he had missed such an opportunity earlier. Now, she was weak and vulnerable and by the way she had reacted, it was probable that she had amnesia, which was common if one used too much chakra.

This was his chance. She refused to be his ally, then he had no business with her. She had to be eliminated before it was too late.

Konan sighed quietly, almost inaudibly. She has never seen Pein excited this much and she has known him for very long time. She knew who the girl named Rena truly was: The Phoenix of the South, Suzaku who was considered the strongest out of five demon gods. It would pose a threat to him when she decided to stick by Pein's opposite side.

In fact, even Konan, who was closest to Pein, didn't exactly know what his entire plan was. She knew that Pein was trying to morph all the bijuus to create some kind of weapon, but after that, she knew nothing. Sometimes, she wished that she knew what was going on. But as Pein had said before, all you needed was faith.

* * *

"Sorry about that." Rena awkwardly murmured as she saw Kakashi rubbing his arm.

"No worries. I shouldn't have said it bluntly like that."

"And…." Rena took every bit of courage to spit out the words. "I really appreciate your not telling anyone about… you know.."

"Oh.. Yeah, sure." Kakashi answered. An awkward silence pressed on. Kakashi didn't know what to do. He had so many questions, and yet he couldn't dare to ask them. I mean, what was he supposed to ask?

"Well, since you went through all this, I guess… I owe you an explanation." Rena slumped on to the bed. Kakashi followed her immediately. Rena seemed to be cautious about all of this.

"First of all, all of my memories are not back yet. All I remember is… from the very beginning until the very first time I took an alias as a human, and the recent few months that I stayed in Konoha. I guess the middle will fill in gradually, but at least I'm glad that had happened." Rena paused for a short inhale.

"So you should remember my _little_ history lesson, right?"

Kakashi did remember. The whole legend of four demon gods, the birth of bijuus and how Suzaku was sealed away for future of demons and other remaining gods went to defeat the outsider, Shounu.

"After.. I was sealed. I was in basically coma state the entire time. But as Byakko and Genbu died, their wish of protecting me got.. a little strong. Because it was their death wish, and gods' death wishes can have tremendous power, something that they didn't expect happened. The seal that was supposed to protect me for a short amount of time ended up imprisoning me for a very, very long time.

Gradually, I finally found the seal getting weaker. First, my soul could escape the seal. So I was a wandering ghost, just looking at how people were living. Well, that was still centuries after I was sealed. I was…. somewhat shocked how people changed. That we became nothing more than.. a fable bothered me a lot. And watching them commiting terrible crimes and unspeakable deed for their own profit horrified me."

Rena let a small sigh to contain her emotions. Kakashi remembered what Rena herself had to go through while she was in Konoha. If she was as old as she said she was, then how many times has she gone through something like that?

"Very slowly, over time, I was able to get through the seal and when I first finally stepped out of my prison, it was… about 100 years ago."

A century ago… That was when Konoha was first built. Wait, could she be also involved in the establishment of this very village?

Rena nodded at Kakashi's question. "Yes, that was one of the first thing I did. I helped the first Hokage to build this village. He was a very fierce trainee and very natural at manipulating chakra. I had never seen anyone capable of mastering two elements of chakra that evenly and well."

"… What about… Uchihas?"

"Ah, Uchihas. You know that Uchiha and Hyuuga are the oldest houses in Konoha, right? And they're the only ones with kekkei genkai in Konoha. I will show you why."

When Kakashi looked at Rena's face, he couldn't help gaping at her. Her eyes were... Byakugan? No, it was too dark to be Byakugan. Instead of regular Byakugan, her eyes were deep violet. He was also shocked to find the marks of Sharingan in her pupil. What could this possibly be?

Groaning in pain, Rena quickly deactivated her kekkei genkai. Breathing heavily, "I guess using these is still a stretch for me."

"Those were…"

"They're called Byaku Sharingan or White Sharingan. They were originally from me but I gave them as gifts to Uchiha and Hyuga, the oldest houses of Konoha. One human won't be able to control the power of Byaku Sharingan physically and mentally so I had to split it in two."

Kakashi didn't say anything. Both Sharingan and Byakugan were considered a great asset. Having two at the same time… It was indeed such a terrible power that probably it really wasn't not meant for mortal human.

"After this village was built, they built the Temple of Fire and in exchange…." Rena's face suddenly became pale. Violently shaking, she stood up.

"How long has it been since I lost my memory?!" She desperately asked.

Not knowing what's going on, Kakashi answered, "About… three weeks."

"Has anything strange ever happened in this village? I don't care how small. Anything!"

Kakashi, still confused, didn't answer for a while. There couldn't have been anything, right? But then… Wait, was it even worth telling her? Well, she did say she doesn't care how small it is.

"Actually, today, the whole village was suddenly under a heavy cloud. We thought it was going to rain, but after about 10 minutes, it was gone."

"Did… Did you feel something strange when that happened?"

Kakashi didn't know why she was so anxious. Usually, she was a calm person and he could figure that this would be important for her to know the information.

"As a matter of fact… Yes. It did feel like that I could sense some strange chakra. But since it was so little, I didn't know quite what it was."

Kakashi looked at her quite worriedly. Actually, the village shinobi force has gone into a brief emergency state due to the unknown chakra. However, the chakra vanished even before they attempted to trace. The emergency state was still active until it was quite clear that the chakra source was gone for good.

Why was she so worried about this? He knew that she didn't do anything weird when Naruto took her away. But… did she have some kind of clue to this?

"Where is the highest point in this village?" Rena desperately asked.

"What?" Kakashi asked somewhat stupidly, not knowing what's going on.

"I will tell you on the way. There is no time! You have to take me to the highest point of the village." Rena's composure was remarkably calm, but Kakashi could tell that she was extremely excited from her voice.

Without asking any further, Kakashi picked her up and started dashing for the mountain. Rena, staying as calm as possible, began to explain what turned out to be a huge problem.

"When this village was first built, I pledged my protection to the village. I built a barrier that would block out… certain enemies that would threaten Konoha for a long time, if not forever. The only way that barrier would be sufficiently useless is if the Temple of Fire is completely destroyed, severing the connection between me and Konoha, or…."

A chill ran down Kakashi's body as Rena finished her sentence. "…. if I lose my chakra completely."

What kind of enemy was she talking about? Kakashi wondered. Of course, it couldn't be shinobis from other villages because Konoha had plenty of invasions from other villages throughout the history. Then what could it be so horrible that it made Rena tremble at the thought of it?

When they reached the mountain, Rena got off Kakashi's back awkwardly. She was breathing heavily from anxiety. Hoping for the best, she began to make complicated hand seals. Kakashi couldn't help marveling at the delicacy and the speediness of the hand seals, even though he couldn't see half of the seals without Sharingan.

After Rena completed her seals, her knees buckled and met the ground. There was nothing she could do but hope that she didn't remember it too late.

* * *

Passing through the thick forest, Pein yelped slightly in pain. Looking at his right wrist, he was somewhat surprised and disturbed to find a burn mark on it. As Pein cursed under his breath, he halted his progression to Konoha.

'_So it has activated,'_ Pein thought bitterly. '_The Wrath of God. This probably means that the barrier is back as well.'_

He should have been smarter about this. How could he make a vital mistake of not recognizing her when he first saw her? Because of his stupidity, he lost a valuable chance of invading Konoha, unnoticed.

The Wrath of God was an ancient curse upon him and other to prevent them from ever invading Konoha physically. Usually, they would be blocked out of the village by a strong barrier and even though he managed to get into the village somehow, his skin would start burning and so forth as a warning to him.

Since he was getting this burn from previous visit, it would be logical to believe that the barrier has been set against him as well.

Again, not believing what kind of horrible mistake he has made, Pein shook his head. Reluctantly, he made his way back to Ame. _'No matter,_' Pein thought. Once his plan completes, there would be nothing that could stop him. Not even this petty Wrath of God.

**(NOTE: In case you don't know, Amegakure is the Hidden Village in Rain. But since I call the Hidden Village in Leaf, or Konohagakure, Konoha I saw it would be better to call the village Ame.)**

Feeling the strange chakra slowly leaving, Rena let out a huge sigh. It was so small that normal human wouldn't be able to trace it from here, but she used as much chakra as possible to keen her senses to detect any strange chakra.

"Whew, I guess I wasn't too late," said Rena in a relieved voice.

Kakashi let out a small sigh as well. Even though there was nothing he could do, after hearing her story, he couldn't help feeling nervous until the "coast was clear."

"So… You've been protecting this village like this ever since it was founded?"

"Well, I can't protect you from every single invasion. But you can at least be assured that the worst invasion won't be possible." Rena answered rather groggily.

Setting up the barrier _and_ heightening her senses were huge task considering that she had barely any chakra restored to her body. But at least, she could protect Konoha.

Kakashi gently picked up Rena who was slowly drifting into sleep. She moaned a little as her best way to say thank you.

"Ah, by the way…"

Rena opened her eyes at Kakashi's call. "…What is it?"

"Happy New Year, Rena."


	25. Feelings

WOW. Two updates this soon. That's pretty amazing, in my case. There's really nothing going on though. For next few chapters, I don't think the plot is going to move that much. I just needed to take a break from the main stream story and have fun with characters. :)

* * *

The bright sunlight cracked the cold winter air. Was it because of New Year? Even the air felt different. Rena wore one of her old kimonos that she managed to snag from her old house. Both Kakashi and she decided that it would be for the best that she would stay until her entire memory came back or enough of her chakra was restored so that she could go back being into adult.

"I can't even remember the last time I wore this," said Rena, looking down at her white kimono with sky-blue tint in it. In the bottom, there was ornate flower decoration but other than that, it was pretty simple kimono.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Kakashi, surprised hurriedly went to the peephole in the door. It was still morning! Who could possibly visit his house?

"Uh-oh," said Kakashi, still looking at the peephole.

"What is it?" asked Rena, not understanding the situation.

"It's… Naruto." Kakashi finally remembered that Naruto said he wanted to visit Rena yesterday. But how the heck was he going to explain to Naruto that Rena (or Ena) suddenly grew 5 years? And she certainly didn't have chakra to sustain Transformation jutsu for all day.

Rena immediately understood what was going on. "Let him in."

Kakashi wasn't so sure. He couldn't see Rena so he didn't know what she was up to, but he had to trust her with this one. _'Please, come up with some good excuses.'_

Swallowing hard, Kakashi opened his front door.

"HI, KAKASHI SENSEI!" Naruto bellowed as he walked in. Behind him were Sakura, Sai, Hinata, Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru. _'Great, he even brought others along,'_ Kakashi thought wearily.

"Happy New Years, Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura, glancing at Kakashi wearing kimono as well. It wasn't everyday to see Kakashi wearing something other than his ninja uniform. Kakashi didn't seem to realize it, but _everyone_ could see that there was definitely a growing change about him.

"Eh, where is Ena?" asked Naruto. Not able to answer the question, Kakashi dearly dearly hoped that Rena figured out something in about a minute that she had.

"Ena had to go home," and came a beautiful looking teenage girl. Even Sakura and Hinata couldn't help but gape at the girl (just for a little while). Sakura remembered Ena from yesterday. This girl resembled Ena greatly but only much more mature. Sakura wondered if this is what Ena would look like if she grew up.

"Uh…. Who are you?" Naruto mumbled. In his mind, he was changing his mind about Sakura being the prettiest girl in town. He never realized how pretty Ena was since she was so little, but this girl… was… amazing.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Erika, Ena's older sister. Ena was so sick yesterday that she had to go home." She glanced at Naruto. "It was hard to take her home since she insisted to stay to keep your promise. So she made me stay here to keep her promise instead and I'm supposed to tell her about it after I return."

Rena, or Erika, briefly glanced at the group. Of course, she knew all of them, but she had to act the part well or someone could cast a suspicion. "The only one I know is Naruto from Ena's description. Could you tell me your names, please?"

As if they just snapped out of the dream, all of them introduced themselves. While listening to them, Erika twisted her hair into an elegant bun. "I'll be off, _Uncle._" Erika gave him a devious look that no one could see. Kakashi frowned a little but not in a bad way. It was just weird to be called uncle. That was all.

* * *

"So you're a shinobi, too?" Naruto asked excitedly. The only time he saw shinobis from other villages who weren't enemies was chuunin exam. It was no wonder that he was excited.

"Yes. My family is from Kumogakure (Hidden Village in Cloud) from Lightening Country." Erika said. Since hardly anyone knew Kumo, she could make up any stories about the village. She doubted that anyone would even bother to research about the village just to see if she was telling the truth.

"Oh wow. I've never seen anyone from Kumo! That's really cool." Kiba remarked. This girl had a strangely familiar scent in her. Who was it? He couldn't tell. He knew he didn't know everyone in Konoha, but he was pretty damn sure that he knew this scent. But from where? He couldn't remember at all.

"We're not allowed to leave the village. Especially if you're shinobi, you pretty much can never leave the village except missions and emergencies. Since my parents were too weak to defend themselves, I managed to get the permission to come here to pick up my sister."

"So your sister isn't shinobi then?" asked Sakura.

"No, she is in middle of her training in the Academy. Hopefully, she will become a genin next year."

"Aw, come on. People! We should go celebrate New Years, not sit and talk!" Naruto shouted energetically. Refreshed by the recent memory, Rena realized how energetic that knuckle head ninja could be. Laughing softly, Erika followed them.

* * *

"Hah, that was fun." Naruto said, lying on the grass that was dyed in orange with sunset.

"It really was." Erika was surprised to find it true. How long has it been since she forgot everything and just enjoyed anything?

"By the way," asked Erika. "Aren't your parents gonna be worried?" She remembered why everyone was gone now.

Naruto's face grew dark for a second. Immediately turning into a big grin, he said, "I don't have parents."

"Oh," Erika was surprised. He didn't have parents… But she didn't see any speck of loneliness or darkness in his face until now. But who knows what kind of ordeal he had to go through to be able to smile like that? "I'm… sorry. I really didn't know."

"Heh, it's fine. I'm over it now." Naruto said casually, looking at the beautiful orange sky.

"... Do you miss them?"

"Who? My parents? No… I don't remember them at all. But yeah… Sometimes I do wonder what happened to them."

"Do you hate them?"

"Hate? Not really…. I think they were involved in their missions or something. It's weird…. That no one know about them. If _anyone_ knew about them…. If I could talk to anyone who knew them…."

Naruto didn't exactly know why he talked so much about his feelings to the strange girl. He only met her today, but there was something about her that made him ease and relax. Just like when he was with….

"Do you ever wish you could meet them?"

Naruto was surprised to find Erika sitting right next to him, staring in his eyes. Her eyes were deep gray, but they weren't dark or cold. It was more like a warm cloudy color that could envelop people and make them forget where they are.

Suddenly a gust blew and her hair band snapped, freeing her hair in the sunset. Her silver hair looked beautiful, bleached in sunset. When she looked at him again, Naruto gasped.

With the hair tinted reddish in the sunset, she looked exactly like Rena…

Naruto abruptly sat up, his mind going crazy. Could it be? The moment Rena was gone, this girl appeared. But how did that explain Ena? Was Ena and Rena related somehow? Goddamn, even their names were similar as well!

Noticing something was amiss, Erika stood up. "I'd better go home as well. Uncle might be worried if I don't come back before the dark." She glanced at Naruto who was still busy figuring out what could be happening. "Good night."

When Naruto finally gave up his thinking, all he could see was a figure with long silver hair.

* * *

"How was your day?" asked Kakashi as he saw Rena stepping into the house through the window. Oddly enough, she liked window better than door as a method to get into the house.

"Good. But I think Naruto's onto something."

Kakashi looked at her incredulously. Naruto?! Naruto's onto something? What was wrong with the world?

"I think he's getting the idea that I'm actually Rena."

"Really? That's really unusual. Naruto actually getting the truth. Probably luck."

"Well, I can't really afford _luck_ busting me right now. What should I do?"

Kakashi sat on the couch that Rena was sitting. Faint lavender scent tickled his nose. "I say…" He said wearily. "You wait and see."

"What? But Kakashi…!"

"Relax, Rena. If I know Naruto correctly, he probably won't be able to figure it out. What's wrong with you, anyway? I've never seen you this flustered about anything."

"Well…." Rena cast her gaze down. "The first time I took an alias as human, I sort of blurted out that I wasn't human. Some people wanted to expel me from the villages while the administrator restrained me from using my power and tortured me to figure out why I was here. After they couldn't find anything, they released me… But the way people treated me was beyond horrible. So I had to leave the village. Battered, hurt, and confused…."

Her head hung down as her body trembled. It was a memory that she wouldn't normally remember since it was too long ago. But the only memory that she had right now was that and her recent stay in Konoha. Being reminded of how she was treated because she was a demon wasn't the best thing in the world.

Kakashi could finally understand why Rena was so nervous to find out that Kakashi knew who she really was. It was from her experience. And if that was her first memory, who knows what could have happened in all of her lost memories.

He put his arm around her tightly. "You know," said Kakashi. "Maybe that's why Naruto was onto something that quickly. He could have… seen himself in it."

"...Maybe. I talked about his parents with him. I… just forgot that he had none. I guess I was acting my part too well."

Naruto's parents….. He was surprised to remember that even _he_ didn't know who Naruto's parents were. Uzumaki…. Was there any family like that? Not that he knew of. Then where was he from? When the Kyuubi was sealed, the boy just miraculously appeared out of nowhere. Could it be destiny that Naruto was there when Kyuubi appeared? He briefly wondered what could have happened if Naruto wasn't there. No parents would want their kids to be Jinchuurikis. If that's the case, then Konoha that exists 

now could have never existed. That's what Yondaime, his sensei, wanted people to remember. That Naruto was a hero, not a monster.

"He didn't sound hurt?" asked Kakashi, knowing the answer too well.

"He tried not to. But I could tell that… he missed his parents."

Kakashi remembered the first time he saw Naruto. It was the last time he saw his sensei. After Kyuubi was defeated, everyone went to search Hokage. Surprisingly, the dead Hokage had his headband missing and a baby in his arms. And that was Naruto.

As he grew, Kakashi couldn't shake off the feeling that he resembled his sensei a lot. Maybe too much. And he couldn't help wondering who Naruto's parents might be. Who were they? Did his sensei know Naruto's parents? How could they give up their child like that? And never to see him again?

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts to meet Rena's worried eyes. Now her eyes were back to normal. That was the best transformation that she could do all day. Changing the eye color might not be a big deal, but because she had such an odd color that it was necessary.

"My point is," said Kakashi. "because he sees himself in you… who knows? He might be able to figure out who you are. In a way, you're his comrade."

"What should I do if he figures out?"

"Well, if he does…. What do you want to do?"

"I… don't know. But I have a feeling that at least Naruto needs to know the truth."

"If you feel that way, then I won't object. I know Naruto well. If he knows, he won't tell anyone. He knows better than that."

"I guess……" Rena curled up in a little ball. "I don't know why, but I feel.. really close to Naruto. Like I can understand his feelings better."

"Like I said, you guys are somewhat kindred spirits, even though Naruto doesn't have to know _that_ far, right?"

"Right."

"Ready for bed?"

Rena recoiled when she saw Kakashi lying on the bed and pointing at the spot next to him. It could have been fine when she was little, but….

Kakashi ended up sleeping on couch on that day.


	26. Saiyen the Lady Death

Yay. Spring break. God, I've been dying for one. So expect a bit more than usual updates! :D I'm on the roll!!

Oh, thanks for the reviews!! It really makes writing this worthwhile.

* * *

"Hah, what am I gonna do now?" Erika sighed. Kakashi has gone out to train Naruto. He mentioned something about elemental manipulation. She knew that kind of training would take a long time. Since she wasn't really close to any others—the fact is, she couldn't afford herself to be—she had nothing to do except roaming the streets.

"Hm?" Erika's brisk steps stopped. She was standing in front of the Hyuuga House. But something was amiss. The bigger one still had all kinds of decoration from New Years yesterday while the smaller house in the corner had… basically nothing. Curious, she just decided to invite herself in, without the host's permission of course.

It looked like the bigger house was the main one, but she couldn't imagine why there were two separate houses to begin with. As far as her recovered memory, there was only one Hyuuga house. So what was the meaning of the….

"You shouldn't just barge into other's house like this."

Surprised, Erika turned around to find Neji. _'Sharp as ever,'_ Erika thought. For some reason, she didn't like him that much. His overly calm composure gave her the aura of pessimism. What could possibly have happened to him to be so cynical about the world? Erika wondered.

"Hahaha, sorry about that. I was just wondering why there were two completely different houses."

Neji frowned slightly. "You're not from here, are you? And you have no idea about this village."

"Eh?" Erika was shocked to find a vehement emotion hidden underneath the boy's voice.

"The big house is the Main House and the other one is Branch House."

"...What?!" Erika jumped off the wall which was around 5 feet high. Watching her gracefully jumping and landing safely, Neji could see that she was no ordinary girl. "What do you mean? There are two houses in Hyuuga?"

Was she for real? Neji wondered. He never enjoyed talking about his family history, especially about main and branch houses. Unintentionally, Neji's blank face turned into a scowl. Noticing his mood, Erika quickly added, "Ah, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I will just go now." She hurriedly jumped on the wall. "I can trust you that you're not going to tell anyone, right?"

Then she swiftly disappeared from the view.

* * *

"I can't believe it! So that's how it was." Erika murmured as she continued to read the book. It was the one about Konoha's two kekkei genkai: Byakugan and Sharingan. The book explained in detail about the oldest houses in Konoha and how they intended to protect the gifts from Suzaku.

Sharingan was a kekkei genkai that only chosen ones were able to activate. There were, in fact, many Uchihas who were exceptional shinobis but never able to awaken their Sharingan. No one was sure how the merits were decided to activate Sharingan. But because it was known that only strong shinobis were able to activate Sharingan, they weren't so eager to protect their kekkei genkai since Sharingan-users were most likely able to protect themselves.

Byakugan, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Almost everyone in the family was born with the ability to activate Byakugan. Because of this difference, the Hyuuga family had to make sure to devise a way to protect their kekkei genkai for those who didn't have the ability to protect themselves. That was when the Main, and Branch house came in. Whoever the oldest would become the Main House; those who were in Branch House would submit their obedience to the Main House with their lives. That way, when someone had to go to the battle or mission that would most likely cost shinobi's life, all they had to do was send someone from Branch House, thus protecting their kekkei genkai.

Erika's hands trembled in pure shock. She didn't honestly know about Main and Branch House. She didn't remember the last time she visited Konoha before present, but she assumed that she never had since she had no idea about this. Or it could be that she never bothered to know any Hyuugas to begin with. Or she knew it but she didn't remember.

Main House, and Branch House. One is to live and pass down their kekkei genkai, and the other is to die for it. How fair could this be? Just because their parents or they were born late, there was an unmovable chain strained to those in Branch House. She also read about the seal that Main House used to control the members of Branch House. This was absurd! One person governing another like that was out of question for her.

Erika remembered Kaishi Hyuuga quite well. When he first got Byakugan from her, he vowed to protect it no matter how. She never imagined that it would turn out like this. _'When I get my powers back,' _she vowed, _'I will change this for good.'_

* * *

"Kyah! Help!" Erika's head turned as she heard the scream. There was no day in Konoha when she could just enjoy walking. The scream was from the nearby restaurant. It seemed that group of gangs were creating ruckus.

"Hey, you'd better let us go if you want to save yourself some trouble."

"But… But you ate all this food and you're not going to pay?" The restaurant owner protested.

"Che, some annoying pests." The one who seemed to be the leader gestured the others. They immediately began to kick all the tables and break everything they could get their hands on.

"P, please stop! This is all I have!" The owner begged. "You don't have to pay anything, so please!"

"You should have taken your chance when you were given one. You made me really upset and you're gonna pay with your restaurant."

"P, please! I beg you. " The owner's wife kneeled in front of him to beg. Looking annoyed, the leader kicked the woman's face. With yelp, she collapsed on the ground.

Erika felt something grow inside of her. Was it rage? But it was too much to be from just this event. It was as if all the angers that have been repressed were finally releasing themselves. The emotions were too much. Was she really holding all this anger all this time? She felt herself slowly drifting. She was losing herself….

"Ah, I feel shitty, why don't we…." The leader stopped talking as the intense pain erupted from his arm. Looking back, he saw his twisted arm and pair of fierce amber eyes staring into him.

"All right, you had too much fun." The girl whispered in a low voice. With a flick, as his arm was being untwisted, he could feel his body flipping. Before he knew what had happened, he was spread eagle on the ground.

He raised his head to look at the girl. Has he ever seen this girl? Not that he remembered of. The brilliant silver hair wasn't so common in Konoha. Maybe Kakashi's, but his hair was closer to gray and silver. Who was this girl?

In a blink of an eye, three men dropped on the ground. In her hands were kunais.

"HAH! There! You're _not_ supposed to use a lethal weapon to civilians for any reason! You have broken a very important law. Wait until…."

His accusation was cut short by a strong kick in his stomach. When he looked up he couldn't help gasping. Such anger and hatred in her eyes…. Compared to the last one, this stare was as if she ascended from Hell itself.

"Have a good look at this weapon, human. If you realize that I loathe shedding unnecessary blood then you will see that my weapons have been dull from the beginning."

He saw that it was true. The kunais were enveloped in chakra that protected their sharp edges so that it wouldn't hurt anyone.

"How dare a lowlife like yourself accuse me of killing? You humans are the creatures who are bloodthirsty, and you dare to accuse _me_ of such vile thing?" A gust of chakra blew all of sudden. The man screamed in fear and cringed himself into a ball. "BE GONE! Thou shall not be waste mine time. But remember, there would be no forgiveness in Hell."

Erika was about to walk away when couple of shinobis came into the scene to inspect the chaos. When they saw her with kunais, they halted her. As if it were his chance, the man blurted out, "Help us! This woman was trying to kill us! Help!"

Scoffing at the man's lie, Erika quickly left the scene. "Halt! You have to report yourself to the investigation since you're a shinobi from other village! I said _halt!_"

Erika, not even able to hear what they are saying, just headed to the thick forest. And before anyone could stop her, she was already gone.

* * *

Some while later…

"Fascinating…" said Pein, staring at his unexpected prize. When he felt the gust of chakra and anger from Konoha, he couldn't help himself but heading there. In the forest, he found a rage-consumed Suzaku. She was definitely weaker than her normal self, so it didn't take long to capture her. But he was intrigued to know what kind of situation could have pushed her to this stage. She looked more like a beast than a person.

"Mmmm…." The eyes slowly opened to reveal magnificent amber eyes. "Where… where am I? Who are thou might be?"

Talking in old ways, just like centuries ago. Pein finally figured out what has happened. Suzaku must have lost her memory and her second nature was recovered before the other one.

Suzaku the Phoenix was a symbol of life but also of death. Her fiery fire would burn eternally in Hell for those who committed unspeakable crimes. But it's been forever since Suzaku actually revealed her other side: Saiyen, the Death Goddess or Lady Death. So it must have been her angers toward humanity that came rushing into her brain before anything else. That could explain her current situation.

"I'm your humble servant, Saiyen. A servant to bring down the humanity which is full of evildoers."

"My servant….?" Saiyen sounded confused.

"Yes. Your eternal fire cries for souls of evil. Humans, forgetting the existence of Hell, have finally gone out of control. Dear Saiyen, I plea you to lend your power to wipe out those humans and teach who they should fear."

"... Yes... Yes... This thought has been in mine mind for a many while, but I have been suppressed for too long by Suzaku. Humans are such pathetic wretch that I am forced to lay mine hands. Their lives will be mine to judge with unforgiving resentment and to terminate with delighted retribution."

"Milady, would you accompany me to my base?"

Smiling, Saiyen took his hand and they were gone.

* * *

"WHAT?!" Kakashi couldn't believe his ears. The girl that shinobis described had to be Rena. Apparently, she was helping out the restaurant which was being sabotaged by a street gang, but when she was halted for inquiry she fled without looking back.

He understood her fleeing the site since she couldn't afford to be found right now. He scratched his head. He never thought the situation would be this bad this soon. The worse thing was that her trace of chakra was gone. Nowhere in the forest could she be found. That meant she was already out of the 

country. Where could she possibly go? Was she planning to not return until all of her memories were back?

Kakashi couldn't answer when Tsunade asked the squad if anyone knew who she was. He would have to tell the kids about her and ask them not to tell Hokage sama about her. But that meant he had to tell them who she really was. Was it really worth it?

His mind was spinning and all of his senses were numb from confusion. He had to make the decision. He remembered his discussion with Rena. She already had a bad memory when she was first exposed. Would she be able to hand another exposure? Who was he to decide this anyway?

When he stepped out of Hokage's office, he knew he had no other choice. He needed manpower to tack her down and those kids were the best offer he had. Somewhat heavy hearted, he headed to his home.

Contrast to his mood, the evening air was light and breezy. Wondering how the same sunset could look drastically different according to his mood, Kakashi stepped into his unusually empty house.

Or so he thought.

The moment he stepped into the house, he felt someone was in here. Also, he found out quickly that they weren't intruders. It was the kids. Well, two of them: Naruto and Hinata.

"She's Rena, isn't she?"

Kakashi's dark eyes met Naruto's so bright blue ones. So, he was able to figure out after all, Kakashi thought. Of course, Naruto would have had some help from Hinata. Noticing his gaze, Hinata blushed and said, "I did feel a similar chakra from her yesterday and when Naruto-kun asked me about it, we thought that maybe…."

Kakashi raised his hand to stop her. He had no time to explain right now. Time was essence. Before dawn, they had to find her before the words began to escape.

"Naruto, to your question, yes you're right. She is Rena. After defeating Orochimaru, she spent too much chakra and resulted in memory loss. I deemed that it would be better if I kept her until she regained her memory."

"But why? I don't understand! Why not tell Tsunade-obaachan?"

Now, this was question Kakashi didn't really want to answer. "Rena and I have our reasons for that. Also, it's utmost important that no one else knows about this. Hinata, does Neji know this as well?"

Hinata nodded. Kakashi guessed as much but he could trust that Neji wouldn't blabber it to anyone.

"Because we have to keep Rena's identity secret, it's very important that we bring her back ASAP."

"So we would want her back before the dawn." Hinata answered, catching Kakashi's drift.

Kakashi nodded. "This will be a secret mission for three of us and three of us only. Are you guys up for this?"

Naruto and Hinata nodded their heads defiantly. They knew when Kakashi was serious. And when Kakashi was serious, no one messed with him because undivided attention was needed in such situation.

"All right, let's get to the mission then."

With grim faces, three headed to the forest, where no moonlight shone through the thick trees.

* * *

OMG OMG OMG, Rena has mutiple personalities!! Surprise!!


	27. Alter Ego

Sorry about late update. I got hooked to this MMORPG game called Mabinogi.

* * *

As Kakashi, Naruto, and Hinata continued their silent search, the time flew by. Before they even knew what was going on, they could see the sky becoming red from nearly rising sun. Not being able to control himself, Naruto shouted, "Damn! Where could she be? We looked everywhere!"

Kakashi and Hinata didn't say anything but they thought exactly same; they just didn't have guts to break the silence. Kakashi wondered if it was worth to continue the search. Naruto _was_ right. They have been searching the forest for hours.

When Kakashi was at the verge of calling retreat, they all felt the incredible amount of chakra. One didn't need to be a shinobi to feel this amount of chakra around them. They turned around abruptly to the source of chakra to find a girl standing there.

The girl was around 16 years old with ebony colored hair. The eyes that were calmly gazing them were bloody crimson. She was wearing dark gray ragged silk strips that seemed to wrap around the girl's body as if it was alive. If she didn't have a sinister looking, long, black-bladed sword in her hand, she could have looked like a delicately hand-made doll. She looked at them with blank smile filled with absent curiosity. Although she had an innocent look, Kakashi couldn't help feeling ominous about this girl. Just then, without even changing her face, her sword lengthened to penetrate them.

Three of them quickly dodged the attack, even though it took them by surprise. The girl didn't seem to react at all. Actually, she didn't seem to be responsive to her surroundings. Her pale complexion didn't really help Kakashi's deduction. Could she be just a clon of some sort?

No, Kakashi thought. A mere clone couldn't hold this much chakra. This had to be a real thing. But who was she? And why did he have the strangest feeling that he knew her somehow?

The girl seemed relentless to attack. The ceaseless attack of the girl tired the heck out of all of them. The worst part was that none of them even had time to attack because of the damn sword which seemed to be able to contract and lengthen at the girl's will.

"Damn, what kind of sword is that? It doesn't look like it's made out of metal at all!" Naruto shouted, trying to dodge the blade. His movements have become slow from hours of searching and the ceaseless attack. Few minor scratches began to appear, and Kakashi could tell that even Hinata was having trouble, even with her Byakugan. For some odd reason, Kakashi couldn't predict the movement of the sword as well. Did it mean that the blade didn't have a physical embodiment? But it still hurt!

Kakashi tried to think a way out of it but it was no use. Although he had to say it was lucky that the girl's weapon was a sword. Because of the blade, her movements were becoming more predictable and the other two seemed to figure this out as well.

Suddenly, the girl's eyes changed. As Kakashi couldn't help marveling how clear those ruby eyes were, the blade returned to its original form. Before they could make any more move, the sword started to reform itself as if it was made out of jelly.

"What the hell?" asked Naruto, not believing his eyes. This got to be a joke! None of them has ever heard of a weapon that could change its form. The sword changed into several kunais and she threw them without hesitation.

None of them actually moved. Because by the way that the girl threw the kunais, they knew those wouldn't hit them. What was she thinking? Wasting her valuable weapons like that? Three kunais landed in front of each of them as if they were marks.

Kakashi and the others tried to move away when they stopped as if something was holding them. Surprised, they looked around. Their limbs moved fine so it wasn't a bounding jutsu, but why couldn't they move anywhere?

While all three of them were trying to figure out what was happening, Hinata gave out a small yelp. Her byakugan was activated and her gaze was fixed on her shadow. Realizing something Kakashi looked at his own shadow. The kunai was on his head shadow. Kakashi took steps toward the kunai. He wasn't surprised to find that he could move that way. Now, he tried to step backward. When his shadow stretched to his body size, he couldn't move any further.

A chilling realization hit him: the girl wasn't just wasting her weapon. Somehow, she trapped their shadows! It was like Nara's special shadow jutsu, but much better and convenient. When this horrible truth hit him and probably others as well, he noticed that the girl wasn't there.

"Look ou…." Kakashi couldn't finish his sentence when he saw the girl appearing right in front of Naruto, holding a black bladed dagger.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled, her face pale with horror.

The girl stopped at the name. Naruto, at the verge of fainting, was looking at the girl's eyes directly. Her eyes were clear as if they were made out of glass. She didn't seem to possess hatred or anger. Her stare was just blank. Then why was she trying to kill him?

Naruto's heart almost stopped when the girl stoppead as if she was a doll out of power. She didn't even blink for a while. Then Naruto saw the first emotion out of the girl: confusion. Then the girl took steps backward, holding her head with her hand. Not knowing what she might do next, all three of them watched her carefully, feeling helpless. She groaned slightly in pain. She whispered something so quietly that only Naruto could hear it. He had no idea what it was, but he was sure that what he heard was 'Saiyen'.

Of course, naturally, Naruto had no idea what that meant, but before he could even ask what it was, the girl disappeared without a trace.

A little after she disappeared so did the kunais and Kakashi felt the bizarre bound around his body loosen. It seemed to be the case for other as well, since they could walk around fine. Naruto, kneeling on the branch, breathed rather heavily.

"You OK, Naruto?" asked Kakashi. He could understand Naruto's feeling. They were literally helpless against this girl. To die like that, knowing they can't do anything to stop it. The instantaneous horror was unbearable to any shinobis.



Hinata also almost collapsed on the branch. She was breathing hard as well, and Kakashi could even see some tears in her eyes. Kakashi didn't know what to do. He was the one who dragged them into this mess. Of course, he had no idea how events would turn out, but he was responsible for their lives and his actions.

"All right. We'd… better head back to the village. I'm.. sorry that I got you into this," said Kakashi.

Naruto and Hinata looked at him, half amazed and half still scared. They had never seen Kakashi apologizing, and they could tell that he meant it sincerely. Hinata shook her head. A smile took place in her face instead of tears.

"No, we were the ones who came to your house for help. Besides, this was no one's fault."

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei. Don't worry. We're not gonna let this make us feel down," added Naruto with a big grin in his face.

Grateful for their students' understanding, Kakashi couldn't say anything in return.

"Now, how are we going to make up a story?" asked Kakashi. He had told Naruto and Hinata as much as he could make up the story. He was amazed by how his imagination hadn't staled itself yet.

He told Naruto and Hinata that Rena was in a top-secret mission from the elder advisors; a diplomatic mission that even Hokage-sama shouldn't know. Kakashi said that even he didn't know what it was—he just knew that Rena was in it. But then, she was ambushed and badly beaten, resulting in amnesia. But because Hokage or the enemy isn't supposed to know that she is here, he has been taking care of Rena ever since.

First of all, he couldn't believe he came up with that story. Second of all, he couldn't believe they actually believed it.

As Kakashi was still getting over the shock from his sheer luck (or the kids' gullibility), a shinobi tapped his window. When he opened it, he wished he never had.

"Hokage sama is looking for you. Actually, you, Hinata and Naruto, all three of you."

Tsunade roughly scratched her head and read the paper again. She couldn't believe how everything was working just SO DAMN PERFECTLY.(See the sarcasm?) First, the mysterious girl, second, three shinobis randomly heading out of village and now _this?_

When she heard the knock on the door, she was basically barking at Shizune. "What now?"

Shizune cringed at the wrath of Tsunade. She could tell that Tsunade wasn't in her best mood. Hoping that this might help her, Shizune reported the arrival of Kakashi, Naruto and Hinata.



The report seemingly lifted Tsunade's mood. Sighing in relief, Shizune quickly left the office before Tsunade could throw another tantrum at her.

"I heard you called," said Kakashi as they walked in.

"Yes, I had a report from someone seeing you three heading out of the village last night. I notified the patrol and I know for a fact that you haven't been in the village until an hour ago. Where have you been?!"

Three of them didn't say anything as if they were mute. They had already agreed that they wouldn't tell Tsunade about what had happened in the forest. Although Kakashi did feel that he had to talk about what Naruto had heard from the mysterious girl: Saiyen.

"Hokage-sama, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you personally." Kakashi stepped in.

Tsunade scowled. She didn't want Kakashi by himself. The point of calling all three of them was that she wished to pressure the kids to speak to her. But then, she doubted if she had enough force to make the kids talk, although she wasn't sure if she could do that anyways. Besides something about Kakashi's look told her that what he wanted to talk about was meant to be private. Grumbling, Tsunade waved her hand as a sign for the kids to get out.

An awkward silence took place after the kids left. Kakashi wasn't meeting her eyes, which was bugging the hell out of Tsunade. He was definitely hiding something. She could tell. Ever since the Orochimaru incident, there was something odd about his behavior. There was also a change of mood as well but she decided not to worry about it that much. What was it that he wanted to talk about? So important that he didn't want kids to hear?

"Hokage-sama…" Kakashi started. Tsunade immediately snapped out of her muse, focusing intently on his painfully slow wording.

"Do you know anything about… Saiyen?"

When he finally finished his question, he saw Tsunade flinch. He knew he hit something. It wasn't everyday you got to see Tsunade flinch. Especially in front of her subordinate. But what could it mean?

Tsunade couldn't believe her ears. She had never expected anyone besides Hokages to know the name. It was the dark secret that was passed down only to Hokages. Something sacred and terrible that no one shouldn't know. And here she was, hearing that very name.

"Do you know what has happened this morning?" Tsunade asked. Kakashi shook his head.

"Where have you heard that name?" she asked again.

Kakashi hesitated. How much could he say? "Me, Naruto and Hinata had an opportunity to get acquainted with that girl on New Year's Day. After hearing what had happened, we decided to run our own search just for one night." And then he told her about the encounter with the strange girl, her strange power that seemed to control shadows, and the whisper that Naruto managed to hear: Saiyen.

When Kakashi finished his story, Tsunade looked troubled than ever. She asked grimly, "do you know much about ancient myths of four demon gods that created this world?"

Kakashi, taken aback, couldn't help but say yes.

"Good, that cuts a lot of explanation," said Tsunade. "Listen, this is another part of the myth that no one except Hokages know. Not even other Kages know about this. Naturally, I wouldn't tell this to anyone, but since you seemed to have encountered _her_, I guess I owe you this."

Kakashi was getting confused. What the heck was she talking about? Did she figure out Rena's true identity? No, that didn't seem like it. Then why was she talking about this all of sudden?

"The fire country and Konoha was created by the Phoenix of South, or Suzaku. She was the only goddess out of four; her symbol was obviously fire; and she was considered the Goddess of Life, because Fire is the element that really gave humans a tool to survive in this wilderness.

However, what people don't know is that….. that Suzaku has her alter ego. As much as fire is considered beneficial to human it is also the most devastating element out of five. And because those who committed horrible crimes are believed to burn in eternal Hellfire, Suzaku is also considered Goddess of Death."

Kakashi could feel the chill running down his body. He was catching on Tsunade's drift. Was she trying to tell him that the girl he saw was….

"The Goddess of Death, however, is merciless, ruthless goddess, believing that no forgiveness should be given to anyone. Suzaku, believing this nature was too dangerous, sealed this part of personality into herself and _that_ alter ego is called Saiyen.

It's very hard for Saiyen to break through Suzaku's seal and take over the body. There is only one way though. Well… how do I say this? She has to be…. Beyond ticked off. She has to be consumed by so much rage that she loses control herself and that's when Saiyen takes over. The merciless Goddess of Death. Once she awakens, she will stop at nothing to punish all the humans and supposedly, there is no one who can stop her power."

Tsunade paused for a while and leaned against her chair.

"That's what the legend says and I wouldn't have cared a crap about it, even though I knew this really happened in the past. But the report I just got today and the story you told me…. I'm afraid that's what might have happened."

Tsunade opened her drawer and took out a picture that seemed to be recently taken. Kakashi stepped closer to see it and when he did, not only his heartbeat almost stopped, but he knew exactly what Tsunade was talking about.

In the picture was the completely destroyed Temple of Fire.


	28. The Avenger

Kakashi gaped at the picture incredulously. The Temple of Fire was a sacred place with long held tradition. No one dared to tear it down like this. Was this done by another village? They should have known doing this would mean a war.

Noticing where his thoughts were going, Tsunade said, "we're not sure yet, but ANBU told me it's most likely a work of kid. An unplanned, out of control prank." Tsunade was surprisingly calm, but Kakashi could tell that she wasn't calm at all inside.

"Prank?" He asked back, not believing her explanation. If Tsunade had sent ANBU, that meant the same thought had crossed her mind as well. But how did she figure out what had happened? When he asked, she just shook her head, too tired to explain such a ridiculous event. Sighing, Tsunade pulled out a folder from the drawer. There, she took out another photo. This one was of a burned out exploding notes.

_But wait… _Kakashi's eyes grew narrow. As a former ANBU, his high observation skill told him that it wasn't even professional exploding notes. These were the kinds that kids bought from… So that's why….

As Tsunade saw the light of revelation in Kakashi's face, she said defiantly, "we will find whoever did this. It doesn't matter if they meant harm or not. Destroying sacred place like this.. They will definitely pay for their consequence."

* * *

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who was thinking that way.

"You seem to be relaxing." She opened her eyes when she heard the voice. When she did, she saw the man standing there. The one who took her here. The one who pledged his loyalty to her. What was his name… Ah yes, Pein. How fitting name for her servant.

"Pray tell, Pein. Thou has brought me to this sanctuary. Can I trust thee? Is there not some way to prove this curiosity of mine?"

Pein calmly watched the goddess in the middle of the room, enveloped in countless wraps of black silk. They were around her body in function of clothes but those wraps were also all around the room as if they were some kind of shield. Saiyen, who was floating in the middle of the room like she was lying on the invisible bed, gracefully held herself upright and flew over to him. The wraps were behind her like long, silky tails.

"Why is it that you remind of the sick bastard I knew so long ago?"

Pein tried not to show it, but he flinched inside. He was dealing with Saiyen who was complete opposite of Suzaku: impatient, unforgiving and merciless. She wasn't the compassionate type who thought twice about sending someone to the Underworld. What should he say? She was already onto something and he could tell that she was on the right track.

"Well, if you remember me, then you should know that _I_ created you."

Saiyen looked like she was taken aback. It was a bold thing for him to say. True, but bold. After a scrutinizing silence, a clear laughter filled the air. Saiyen who was clearly not offended by Pein's remark said,

"_You_ created me? Well, well, well. What a bold thing to say. But I guess you can say that. The grief that Suzaku had to suffer because of you created the dark side of her soul, which is me. So what do you expect me to do? Lay down my head and kiss your feet in gratitude?"

Siayen just wistfully turned around. Pein couldn't help sighing in relief silently. Saiyen was…. everything that Suzaku _wasn't_. Suzaku was more cautious, gentle, mature, beauty of grace, while Saiyen was daring, mischievous, dangerous, and... provocative.

Although she hasn't been exposed to the outside world for around thousand years, she caught on very quickly. Her awkward, outdated speech was gone within an hour. Even though she had trouble understanding the latest technology, (Pein really wished that someone was with him when he saw her first reaction to TV) he had to say it was interesting to see the other side of the Goddess.

"So if you're… Hm… outside, what happens to Suzaku?"

Saiyen slightly frowned when she heard the question. Suzaku wasn't her favorite subject to talk about. But oh well, it was expected of him. She just shrugged.

"I guess she's in my shoes. Probably sleeping in coma state."

"So you don't have access to her memory whatsoever?"

"Not technically. If our mind switches, then I have her memory as well. I mean, we _are _same after all." She casually popped in another lollypop which became her favorite snack.

"So what are you going to do about them?" Pein asked after a long silence.

"About who?"

"Humans, of course!" Pein stood up in frustration. As much as he was amused by her, he couldn't play like children with her anymore. She _was_ the Goddess of Death and Revenge. And yet, she wasn't doing anything for days!

"Oh, that…." Saiyen's expression grew dark. Pein quickly caught on what was going on.

"Suzaku's memory… It made you soft, didn't it?" Pein spat out.

He instantly realized that it was a bad move. He could feel the rush of chakra like a gust. A red outline of thin chakra surrounded her entire body and silk wraps. One of the wraps quickly went around Pein's neck and began to strangle him in an incredible power. Pein tried to struggle with no luck. Saiyen's ruby eyes grew darker with rage.

"You know me well enough to joke around some times, but you should know better when you are about to cross the line. Don't you dare question my actions or intention. You have pledged your loyalty to me, not your bossiness."

Pein couldn't do anything but coughing. Using his last strength left in him, he materialized his chakra, cutting the wrap around his neck. Gust of air filled his lungs as he coughed harshly. As he was regaining the control of his body, he was determined. Saiyen wasn't what he expected. He had been disappointed when Suzaku had turned her back around. But to think that Saiyen has as well! But then, he couldn't help anything: they _were_ technically one individual.

The silk wraps have turned into a black cloak and her beautiful necklace with the black gem was in the form of arrow.

"You have picked the worst time to fight me," Saiyen said coldly. "Suzaku may rise with the sun, but _I_ rise with the moon."

As Pein shot his eyes to the full moon, she slowly lowered the arrow. Her expression calmed as well.

"It's a waste of my arrow to shoot you. Don't ever bother me again. Consider this as a warning." Then, she turned coldly, vanishing from his sight.

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" Tsunade growled in frustration. She fell asleep on the desk _again._ And she never liked when someone waked her up during her sleep. She lazily glanced at the window. A big, bright full moon eerily shone through the window. She didn't have clock in her room, but she could guess that it was well after midnight. She thought that whoever woke her up would better have a darn good reason to wake her up at this time.

The messenger, sensing her annoyance and fury, timidly said, "We… we have an important report, Hokage-sama."

Her growl encouraged him to continue. "It seems that we have found the culprits for destroying the temple."

Tsunade's eyes snapped open from half sleep. Her tiredness was long gone. "You found them?!" She shouted. She secretly thought that this _was_ a good enough reason to disturb her sleep.

Gaining more confidence from her reaction, he gave her the report. She quickly opened the folder. It contained the profile of three kids. She vaguely remembered them from causing so much trouble. She had numerous complaints from villagers about them. She couldn't even remember how many times she had to have a talk with them. And to see that these kids would go this far… She couldn't help tutting. But if what she heard about Saiyen the Avenger was true….

Suddenly, she felt a tiny tug in her mind. In fact, she had set a various surveillance jutsu around the border of Konoha when she learned that whoever angered Saiyen would most certainly meet death. She frankly didn't believe legends that much, but as a Hokage, precaution wouldn't hurt.

And here she was, facing what could be the worst. Hurriedly, she threw the profiles aside and ran to the house of those children.

* * *

"Ah, I have been waiting for you." The man said, without turning back.

Saiyen didn't say anything, still holding the bow in her hand. _So, he must have sensed my breakout as well,_ she thought.

As if he was reading her mind, the man chuckled. "Oh, you're just like when I remembered. Although I have to say…" In instant, his face was right in front of hers. "You seem to have a different kind of chakra and appearance as a matter of fact."

Saiyen was silent. Of course, there was no way he knew her. He has never seen the other side of Suzaku. But she did. The hatred and sadness caused by this man was buried deep within Suzaku's heart, almost forgotten. But Saiyne the Avenger never forgot it. It didn't matter how long ago it was, she found whoever insulted her and made them pay. No matter what.

But she had to admit that if it wasn't his unusual chakra quality, she wouldn't have recognized him. He was… different from Suzaku's memory. His hair was definitely shorter and he was wearing a black cloak with red clouds. What did that symbol mean? Saiyen carefully dug into Suzaku's memory. Ah, yes, _Akatsuki._ And the mask on his face was totally tacky, in her opinion.

She could feel Tobi, or Uchiha Madara in her memory, smiling inside of his mask.

Without saying anything, Saiyen's bow turned into a dagger, slashing Madara. He easily avoided it by jumping back. His eyes twinkled with interest.

"You are Suzaku, yet you're not. How interesting. And also, that weapon of yours…"

But he never finished his sentence as the dagger changed its form to rope and wrapped around him. He couldn't help feeling surprised. For some reason, this weapon had no chakra around it and yet she was somehow able to control it at will. What was it?

She slowly walked toward him in the moonlight and now he could see her more clearly now. Instead of brilliant red hair that he remembered, black hair as dark as night sky shone brilliantly; instead of warm amber eyes that he remembered, cold-angered, hatred-filled, red eyes were staring at him.

Saiyen stared at him silently. Here was the man who brought so much happiness and grief to her dear Suzaku. Even though she never cased to remember how Suzaku sealed her, Suzaku was like a sister to her; a sister who couldn't bear to punish those who inflicted pain on her; a sister who never understood that humans can never learn by nurturing them all the time. And Saiyen was determined to prove Suzaku wrong. And she was going to start with this man.

"….You're not Suzaku… You're different." Madara spat out, struggling with the rope around his body.

"Yes," said Saiyen. "I'm Saiyen the Goddess of Death, or Lady Death or Avenger, however you see it fit. I have been an alternative persona of Suzaku. And today, I'm going to avenge those who made Suzaku suffer." Then she added with no change in her expression, "starting with you."


	29. New Alliance

**(WARNING: SPOILERS NARUTO MANGA CH. 399-402)**

"Me? ME?! _I _have caused you pain? You are the one who betrayed me!" Madara said indignantly. It has been nearly a hundred years, but he never forgot the pain that he had gone through. Saiyen's eyes faltered as she noticed a different tone in his voice. But it soon followed with hatred and scorn. "As a goddess of war and death, you should have known that my goal was right. But yet, instead of blessing, you scorned and left me with no reason whatsoever."

Saiyen's eyes grew narrow. "War? You call _that_ war? Don't insult me, Madara. That's nothing like war. You call that meaningless slaughter. Don't get confused with warriors' pride and madman's desire to kill."

She stopped and gazed at her once lover. How innocent and naïve Suzaku had been… She could never imagine the gentle, ambitious young man could turn into the most threatening force for destruction of Konoha. The striving man who dreamed of uniting the various ninja faction now turned into a beast that thirsted for revenge, blood and his honor.

"What are you talking about? The birth of Konoha meant the death of Uchiha. We were discriminated, scorned and feared and we were never allowed to fit in."

"And do you not realize that _you _were the main cause of it? Your bloodthirsty nature was always too dangerous!!" She added quietly that he couldn't hear her. "….Even for me…"

"HA! I'm bloodthirsty? Have you realized what they have done to my clan after the Kyuubi incident?"

Saiyen flinched in response. It was around sixteen years ago, but it was still a sore subject to her. Well, for immortal being, sixteen years was nothing. Her mind drifted back to the recent past. When she used to be so happy, feeling protected, hoping that this segment of the life would never end.

Until that fateful day when everything was broken…

Was it better that Suzaku couldn't remember anything? Saiyen knew too well the reason of amnesia. When Suzaku passed out, her subconscious made a powerful wish: to forget everything. That was her way of dealing with pain. Never forgetting, but also forgiving. Well, that wasn't the case with Saiyen.

Before he could react, a shot of arrow was planted deeply in his shoulder. He gritted his teeth not to scream, refusing to show a weak side. He noticed the arrow too well: it was the same kind that almost sealed his doom a hundred years ago. He saw her eyes flash with unforgiving hatred. Smiling rather calmly, Madara gazed upon the goddess.

"Go on, shoot me. I have no reason to live anyway."

Hearing unexpected, Saiyen halted. Something was different. This wasn't Uchiha Madara that she knew. What had happened to him?

"The day you abandoned me, I have lost one of the reasons to live."

Within confusion, something little snagged her ears. "….One of the reasons….?" She _was_ surprised to learn that his love for her was one of his reasons to live. The other one….. She knew so well….

The revenge for Konoha.

For him to say such things as not wanting to live, she knew immediately that he had done something. Her eyes grew narrow with sudden anxiety. "Madara, what kind of trick did you pull this time?"

Madara coolly smiled. "Oh, nothing. I just told him about his brother's true intention and what really happened around 16 years ago."

Her heart froze in an instant. "Don't tell me that he's planning to….."

His grin turned into a big fanatic smile and soon turned into laughter. "Yes, yes, yes!! While you were busy here trying to toy with our memory and emotion, Sasuke is faithfully fulfilling what Uchiha should have done a long time ago: destroying Konoha!"

Her five senses were clouded with horror. Wielding her bow calmly, she pointed at the still-laughing man.

"….Answer me… How long has it been since Itachi died?" she asked, trying to suppress all of her emotions.

Madara stopped laughing. His half-dazed eyes quivered over her face. "So you even figured out that he's dead, huh? Just like how I know you."

"Stop screwing around! Where is his body and how long has it been since he died?"

Lazily, he spat out, "I haven't touched the body after the battle and it has been about 2 days. But there is _nothing_ you can do now. Your precious Konoha will fall by the hands of the clan you so much loved. Hahahahaha!""

That moment, she finally realized. This wasn't the man she had loved. The period of hundred years has finally made him mad. The want for revenge and jealousy broke his heart so completely that she couldn't even find crumbs. When she closed her eyes, a roll of tear trickled down. The man she loved was no more. Millions of memories passed through her mind. And her right hand holding the arrow released, piercing through the heart of the man whom she dearly loved once.

A sad cry rang through the cloudless night sky.

* * *

In front of Saiyen lied a body that hadn't been tainted by time. She didn't have to guess that Madara had put a jutsu so that Itachi would be preserved so that he could properly dispose it later.

"Are you still mad at me?" Saiyen asked quietly and turned around. Behind her was what looked like a ghost of Suzaku. She was just like when Saiyen took over her body: still young, silver haired, and crying.

"You didn't have to kill him, Saiyen! There could have been other…."

"What other ways? You think he would become better if you just left him like that? Because you didn't punish him properly, now Sasuke is on the way to destroy Konoha. Don't you dare think that I don't care about the village. We just handle things differently but our goal is same."

Heartbroken, Suzaku kneeled on the ground. "Why did he become like that? How many people have become like that in my lost memory?"

Saiyen couldn't say anything. It was a burden that only Suzaku can carry. Suzaku stared at the dead body of Itachi.

"He didn't deserve to die." She said.

Saiyen was surprised at herself that she agreed. Suzaku has softened her philosophy: that no one deserved a second chance. But… maybe for Itachi… she could see that Suzaku was right.

"Now you know that people deserve second chance." Suzaku murmured.

"Well, now you know that sometimes even second chance doesn't work and there is no other alternative," answered Saiyen, referring to Madara.

Suzaku nodded. "I... was wrong about you. I always thought that people will change if I just stand and watch. I thought that sometimes, there is really no other way around. I've been a fool…." She couldn't continue and Saiyen knew why. Watching her once-lover fall down mentally like that was hard, especially for Suzaku.

"Maybe I was wrong as well," Saiyen said softly. "I never thought that death was an unfair treatment to those who have committed crimes. But seeing Itachi.. and you has changed my mind. Sometimes, people _do_ deserve second chance. Death is not the only way to deal with dishonorable people."

Suzaku smiled faintly. "We've both learned each other's way." Saiyen nodded. Suzaku held out her arms. "Now, will you come back to me?"

As Suzaku hugged Saiyen, they could feel the emptiness in their heart being filled up.

"Not everyone deserves death and punishment."

"But not everyone deserves forgiveness."

"We shall be the judges for those who will meet their doom."

"And together… We will watch over this world…."

* * *

His eyes slowly opened and the first thing he saw was… ceiling of the hut. Huh… So the afterlife could be domestic? Slowly getting up, he was surprised to find that none of his body parts was hurt. But then, it _was_ afterlife….. or was it?

He saw a fireplace in the middle with the pot on it. The stew, which seemed to be freshly made, was releasing steam and through the steam he could see… a girl?

"Good morning, Uchiha Itachi." The girl said, turning around to face him. Her striking amber eyes penetrated him. He had a strong feeling that he knew this girl, but he had no idea who this girl was. Where was he? What was going on?

"Confused?" The girl chuckled. Something about the girl's manner told him that she was a lot more than a mere teenage girl. The girl walked up to him in light steps. When he looked up, she was in front of him. And everything happened so quickly.

But as he saw the magnificent red wings sprouting out of her back, he knew exactly who he was talking to.

"I'm the one who gave you a second life, Uchiha Itachi."

Incredulous, Itachi murmured the name he never thought possible. "……Suzaku….." Then he finally understood what happened to him. He wasn't dead. No, he was far from him. He was blessed with another chance...

Quickly, the wings were gone. Stretching her arms, she sat down casually and picked up her bowl of stew. Before he knew what was going on, she handed him a bowl filled with stew. "Eat. I managed to fix all of your disease and injuries, but you should be starving since you used all of your strength in that battle."

Staring at the bowl blankly, Itachi slowly put the spoon in his mouth. He couldn't believe that he was thinking that the stew was delicious in this kind of dire situation. He still didn't understand what was happening, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to ask her.

Two of them finished the meal silently. As the food began to digest, he could feel some of his strength returning. So did the clarity in his head. He looked at Suzaku, waiting for the explanation. Noticing his gaze, Suzaku scratched her head.

"Well, I gotta explain what happened. You should remember what happened to you and Sasuke, yes?"

"Is he safe?" He blurted out. Suzaku let out a small laughter.

"Yes, he's very safe. But something you feared has happened."

Itachi quickly caught on what she was talking about. "Madara…"

"Correct." Suzaku added cautiously. "And Sasuke knows the truth."

Itachi's eyes grew wide with surprise. Sasuke knew the truth? What was going on between Konoha and Uchiha? Then… he knew why Itachi had been like this all the time.

"That… filthy…!! I will go finish him off."

Suzaku stopped him before he could do anything stupid. "Now, now, calm down. Madara is already dead."

Itachi stopped in the middle of standing. Slowly he sat down. Suzaku continued. "There was a brief time when Saiyen took over my body. At that time, she killed Madara."

Then Itachi realized that something was amiss with Suzaku. Of course, he has never met the goddess himself, but according to his study on his ancestry, Suzaku wasn't… like this. It was as if she had turned into a different personality.

"Saiyen…? That's your second personality, isn't it? The Goddess of Death and War."

"Good for you. You have done your study very well." Suzaku stared at the floor for a moment. "I know it sounds ridiculous," she started. "I will explain everything I know, but you have to promise me that you will fill in the gap for me."

For a moment, Itachi was confused. "Fill the gap?"

"Because of Orochimaru's invasion to Konoha, I was forced to re-awaken some of my demon powers." She explained. "And in the process, I have lost my memory. The only segment of memory that I have right now is from the very beginning until the establishment of Konoha. That's how I remember Madara." She stopped for a short break. "When… Saiyen and I decided to become one again, oddly enough, her memory didn't morph with mine. Of course, Saiyen had all of the memory intact, but I guess since I was the host of the body I couldn't reclaim my lost memory… All I know is that… He was involved in Kyuubi incident, whatever that is, and…" Suzaku's expression grew painful. In anticipation, Itachi waited for her to finish her sentence. With heavy heart, Suzaku said,

"And that Sasuke is on his way to destroy Konoha on your behalf."

Itachi's heart almost stopped in shock. He now knew what she had meant by 'what you have feared has happened.' Sasuke attacking Konoha was the worst scenario that he never hoped to happen. His fists were clenched.

"Now, you have to tell me, Itachi. What _did_ happen to Uchiha clan and Konoha sixteen years ago? I have no memory of that."

Taking a while to calm himself, Itachi painfully recollected what had happened. How Madara has released Kyuubi in spite of Konoha, the sacrifice of Fourth Hokage, the coup de tat, the deal between him and Madara, everything.

Suzaku felt a pang in her heart as she listened to the story about Fourth Hokage. _Why?_ She wondered. _Did he have to do anything with my memory?_

After finishing his story, Itachi didn't do anything. Suzaku stood up, looking at the window. The sun was already rising. A new day… It could be the last day of Konoha if they didn't hurry.

"Itachi, we have to go to Konoha immediately and stop Sasuke."

Itachi nodded and stood up as well. "How are we going to get there?"

"Unfortunately, we will have to get there by foot. There is no way your Sharingan can get both of us to Konoha. It's just too far away. Mine should be able to do it, but as you can see, all of my strength hasn't returned yet." She pointed to her small body and silver hair. "Well, we can try to find the Temple and use the Portal, but the Temple is farther away from here. It will be faster to go to Konoha directly."

With defiant heart, Suzaku and Itachi headed off, hoping to protect their precious.


	30. Deadly Sin

Tsunade quickly ran to the border where the sensor tag had been off. Ever since she learned the nature of Saiyen, she became extremely worried that the Goddess will do harms to the children who had done the offense. And Tsunade was pretty sure that Saiyen wouldn't care who they were and they would pay the crime with death. Although she hardly believed the legend fully, she couldn't help being worried and it never hurt to be too cautious. Hundreds of thoughts crossed her head, including what she would do if she really encountered the Goddess of Death.

However, she met someone entirely different. For good or bad, she could not tell.

Tsunade ran into Sasuke and three other shinobis.

* * *

"How is your body feeling?" asked Suzaku, breaking the long silence. Itachi didn't answer.

"Oh, come on. I know your body must be stiff. I mean, you _were_ dead for two days." Suzaku continued without looking back. "It's not good if you strain your body too much. You might find yourself helpless once you really get to Konoha. And you're the most important piece to stop Sasuke's invasion."

Suzaku noticed him slowing down immediately. Smiling, she halted and took a seat on one of the branches. So did Itachi.

"Let me see you." Itachi lifted his head, finding Suzaku sitting right in front of him. Her eyes were staring directly at his. And after a second, her Byakugan… No, what was this? A revelation hit him. It was the legendary Byaku-Sharingan. He never knew that he would see it himself. Her Sharingan looked different from his, as all Mangekyou Sharingans did. The light violet eyes somehow calmed him, even though he was somewhat afraid of what those eyes might be able to do. Could she see that he was nervous under the gaze?

Suddenly, he felt his own Mangekyou Sharingan activate. Hurriedly, he tried to put it out in fear of losing his sight. However, in his surprise, he couldn't feel anything. He felt his eyes reacting to Suzaku's eyes. And after a moment, her eyes were back to normal and so were his. Smiling rather happily, "There, you will be just fine."

"What… happened?" asked Itachi, pressing his hand against one of his eyes. The eyes that caused so much pain to him were just fine as if nothing happened.

"The reason I put a restriction on Sharingan," Suzaku answered, "was because I was afraid that your clan will overuse the power and disturbe the peace. Especially when only strong Uchihas would be gifted with Sharingan. Well, about what I did to you... Let's just say you don't have to pluck out Sasuke's eyes anymore."

Itachi was speechless with awe. Did that mean he didn't have to worry about the burden of using his eyes?

"Don't take it too far, though," she warned. "As I gave you a new power, I can easily take it away from you."

Itachi didn't say anything in return, knowing that she knew his answer already. To be gifted with second chance and this…. He just didn't know how to thank her. Why did she go so far for him?

After asking what he had in his mind, he patiently waited for answer. For the first time, the goofy teenager looked solemn and he couldn't believe how she looked like a completely different person.

"I… don't know." She answered after a long pause. "I don't have any memory after Konoha's establishment until last two months when I came to Konoha last. However, I can't help feeling that what had befallen unto your family is partly my fault. For what reason, I don't remember. I will be able to answer this once I get my memory entirely. But because I feel responsible for your family's tragedy, I will do everything in my power to restore it to the best state."

Then Itachi decided to ask some questions in his mind while he was at it. How was he alive like this right now?

Suzaku made a faint smile. "The thread that weaves the fate is never easy to deal with. Especially, if it goes against the stream of time." Suzaku paused for a moment. "However, as the Goddess of Life and Death, if I deem a person's death untimely, I do have power to resurrect dead, although I have to pay my own consequences."

Two things snagged Itachi's mind: her _own_ consequences, and Goddess of Life _and_ Death? As far as he knew, Suzaku was only in charge of Life, while Saiyen was in Death.

"I wasn't kidding when I said Saiyen and I became one." Suzaku calmly explained. "When we saw what happened to you and Madara, we knew that both of our philosophies about humanity were wrong. I won't always be the light to the humanity; where there is light, there is always darkness. Saiyen and I have become one to judge the humanity fairly and give what they properly deserve, rather than forgiving them or giving them punishment all the time."

Itachi finally realized the odd difference that he had noticed earlier from her. So she did change after all.

"Do you… think the situation can be fixed? That Sasuke can be forgiven?" Itachi asked cautioutly, his heart beating uncontrollably with worry. Suzaku cast a glance at Itachi's face, which made him turn his face.

"We will have to try to fix it as much as we can and as fast as we can. The past has already been twisted by fate, but I don't see why it can't be fixed. And Sasuke was just a victim of misfortune."

Itachi couldn't help letting out a small sigh, but Suzaku didn't alter her gaze to him and added, "However, if he ever destroys my beloved village or shed any blood, he _will _pay his consequences for that."

* * *

A long silence took place. No one dared to move.

"Uchiha… Sasuke," said Tsunade. Even though she had never seen other three personally, she had seen their reports as one of the most wanted shinobis. Sasuke brought some big trouble, all right.

Sasuke and Team Falcon didn't make any moves. Of course, Tsunade was outnumbered, but she was legendary shinobi after all.

"What are you intending to do?" asked Tsunade, her fists clenched.

"Avenging for Uchihas…" Sasuke said coolly, "and my brother."

Tsunade's eyes grew wide in disbelief. Did he finally find out what had happened to Uchiha family? But how? She made sure that she told no one about it. She doubted the Third or the Elders told anyone about it. Then there could be only one explanation… Itachi…

While she was briefly lost in thought, Sasuke's chakra headed for Tsunade and pierced through her shoulder in matter of seconds, leaving a trace of crimson blood.

* * *

Suzaku halted abruptly and growled in a low voice. Surprised, Itachi stopped and wondered what the matter was. When she turned around, the eyes were those of human. They resembled those of Kyuubi's, filled with sudden anger. In a moment, her silver hair turned red, and her ears elongated with pointy end. Watching the transformation, Itachi immediately understood the situation: Hokage has been injured, very seriously. This was the ultimate offense against the role of Suzaku as the Guardian of Konoha. If Hokage were to die, she will give no mercy to Sasuke!

"The blood has been shed," she said in a strange, low voice. Itachi figured out that her demon self was revealin. "Now, he's considered as _enemy _of Konoha and I will do everything to stop him."

Before he could explain and defend his brother, a pair of red, magnificent wings sprouted from her back. With one powerful swing, she was all the way up in sky, heading to Konoha as fast as possible.

Itachi, in disbelief, knelt on the branch, panting. Suzaku mentioned that attacking Hokage would trigger her primary instinct to consider the attacker as the _enemy_. Itachi couldn't help feeling helpless and fearful. Led by instinct, she couldn't guarantee safety of Sasuke. To her, the village weighed more than his brother.

And here he was, hours away from Konoha. He might be too late for Sasuke….

Itachi clenched his fists. This was the second chance that he wasn't supposed to have. He would not let it go waste. He couldn't. He would do everything in _his _power to protect Sasuke.

Determined, Itachi hurried his pace to Konoha.

* * *

"Hm! I guess I should have expected this," Sasuke said coolly, watching his once comrades.

"Sasuke! What do you think you're doing?!" shouted Naruto, unable to believe what was going on. Sakura was tending Tsunade. It was only one blow, but it was loaded with chidori and hit the precise spots to cause the most injuries.

"How is Hokage-sama doing?" asked Kakashi.

"Luckily, it didn't hit the heart," Sakura explained. "But it did hit the artery. She's bleeding so much." She couldn't help quivering her voice from the fear. The fear that they might lose Tsunade.

Naruto growled in frustration and anger. How could Sasuke do this? He was from this village! Was he really serious about his plan on attacking Konoha?

Naruto clenched his fists. Then he would have to knock the sense into Sasuke's head. Quickly, his hand formed Rasengan and he charged.

"Don't! Naruto!"

But before he could reach Sasuke, he was met by a…. familiar sword. Wasn't this… wielded by Zabuza?

"Heh, so _this_ is the nine-tail, huh? He doesn't look strong at all!" Suigetsu scoffed.

But his scoff didn't last long as Rasengan began to make the slightest crack in the sword. Suigetsu couldn't believe his eyes. Zabuza's sword was considered one of the strongest swords in the world! For this kid to make a crack however small it is… His mouth turned into a little smile. So this kid wasn't as bad as he thought.

Sasuke was somewhat surprised at the interesting turnout. He guessed that those months weren't anything for Naruto as well. His Rasengan was stronger and he could make it without a kage bunshin. So those months, Naruto did spend it usefully after all.

After a long struggle, they finally pushed each other off. Naruto groaned silently. After all the training, he couldn't even take on one of Sasuke's subordinates. He felt frustration building up inside of him. Could he really not stop Sasuke after all?

"So _he_ is the nine-tail, huh?" whispered Karin. Sasuke nodded. Killing elders and Hokage was one thing, but capturing Naruto was also important.

"Karin." She quickly turned her head toward Sasuke, eyes filled with affection. Ignoring her obnoxious gaze, Sasuke instructed. "Take care of them. You three should be enough. Tell me where the elders are. _I_ will take care of them."

As the battle progressed on more fiercely, Naruto saw Sasuke slipping by.

"Where do you think you're going?!" He shouted, following Sasuke earnestly. In the heat of the battle, no one else seemed to notice two of them.

"SASUKE!"

Sasuke stopped wearily, recognizing the voice way too well. Naruto was standing on the roof, panting. Sasuke scowled. Being with this dobe was the last thing he wanted right now. Naruto was nothing but a hindrance to his goal. And the more time it took, the more bothersome it would be.

"Move aside. You're nothing but a pest."

"Pest? How could you say that? So this village means _nothing_ to you? The village where your family lived and where you were born?"

Of course, Naruto had no idea, but he added the worst salt to the wound right now. Sasuke turned around, facing Naruto with cold glare.

"What do you know about this village? Konoha is _not_ some place I would cherish. No, I would destroy this entire village if my brother hadn't loved it so much."

Naruto was baffled at Sasuke's words. What could have happened to him? Naruto wondered.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sasuke. But I can't forgive you for what you've done to that hag! (He means by Tsunade)"

Sasuke merely scoffed, which infuriated Naruto even more. Without any hesitation, he charged on with Rasengan.

Before he could even reach Sasuke, a field of electricity formed around Sasuke and he was bounced off.

Or it was more like he disappeared with a poof.

_Kage Bunshin!_ Sasuke's eyes grew narrow in anticipation. So that idiot finally learned some strategy, huh? No matter, he wasn't even worth a match anyway. Sasuke stuck his katana on the roof and sent out the electricity over the nearby area.

Naruto, hiding nearby, almost screamed in pain but covered his mouth with his hands just in time. But he had to figure out something or he would reveal his whereabouts to Sasuke. Naruto started using his brain, trying to come up with something while suppressing his pain.

But, as you expect from Naruto, he couldn't think of anything. He had to do _something_ to stop Sasuke from using that damn jutsu!

Sasuke blocked Naruto's fist rather easily from behind. Sasuke knew that this was the real one. If Naruto was going to fight with tai-jutsu, then he will happily oblige. In fact, Sasuke didn't even think he will need to use any special jutsu to take Naruto down.

But after a moment, Sasuke felt something strange. Out of his many assets, his speed and agility were his strongest. And yet, Naruto was somehow avoiding all of his attacks.

...Like Naruto already knew his attacks…….?

Naruto felt strange sensation as well. For some reason, Sasuke seemed to move a lot slower. Somehow, he could read Sasuke's moves!! But… How?

When both of them stopped for a quick break, Sasuke found out the answer. Yet he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The eyes that were staring Sasuke's were those of his brothers, Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan.


	31. After Strom

Did I mention that I HATE writing action sequences? So that's why there is no action in my battle scene. Sorry.

* * *

Sasuke stopped his attacks in a pure surprise. And surprise wasn't something he got everyday. But seeing Naruto with Mangekyou Sharingan… with _Itachi's_ Mangekyou Sharingan….

Suddenly, it brought a painful memory to Sasuke that he hoped never to be reminded again. He gritted his teeth and aimed his katana, hacking it rather recklessly. Naruto didn't get a scratch thanks to his new unknown power. In fact, Naruto hadn't even realized that he had Sharingan.

"Why? Why do you have those eyes? Out of all Sharingans you could have had, why do you have _Itachi's?_"

Naruto, completely stunned at the news, didn't react fast enough for the katana. The blade pierced through his left shoulder. Added with chidori, the pain was immense. Naruto screamed in pain.

Naruto painfully opened his eyes, katana still in his shoulder. Boldly, he grabbed the blade, not caring for the deep cut in his hand. A kage bunshin appeared and prepared his new jutsu. The new jutsu that he had been saving for Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes grew wide with surprise and distant fear. The Rasengan in Naruto's hand was definitely different, charged with much more chakra and more densely concentrated. The immense amount of chakra couldn't be contained in a sphere and slowly it took a different form around the sphere. As the form became clearer, Sasuke realized what the name of the jutsu would be.

When Naruto's eyes, now turned into those of Kyuubi's, met Sasuke's, he smiled and murmured.

"Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken. I got this just for you…"

* * *

Suzaku got a ping in her head. Not only Hokage's blood had been shed, but another person's blood had been shed just now. Probably not as important as Hokage's for most people, but for Suzaku, he was the most important individual in Konoha. Gritting her teeth for not being able to protect him, she quickly gained speed. All she hoped was that she wouldn't be too late.

* * *

"What are these three anyway?" Ino complained loudly. There was an entire army of Konoha shinobi and yet no one could take down three shinobis that Sasuke brought along. Kakashi glanced back nervously, where Sasuke and Naruto had gone off. He was hoping that Naruto was holding off well. He did end up creating that new jutsu, but the success rate was still 50/50. And he had no idea what effect the jutsu would bring to Naruto.

"Hahahaha, you Konoha shinobis are bunch of whimps!" Suigetsu charged in with confidence.

For now, everyone had to dodge his attack. They have been trying to inflict damage on this shinobi named Suigetsu, but for some reason the attack went _right through_. Kakashi, with the help of his Sharingan, figured out that his entire body was liquid, which made the situation very complicated.

"Ino, how come you can't take them over?!" Shikamaru shouted.

"I don't know! I can't concentrate my chakra on them! I think it's because of them body!"

Shikamaru groaned. The one called Suigetsu's body seemed to be entirely liquid, and the other one called Jago seemed to be mutated in a way that he couldn't understand. Was there no way to take these guys down? Besides…. His eyes drifted to the girl with eccentric hairstyle. Every time she yelled out a strategy, he was becoming more certain that she knew their abilities exactly. He remembered how somehow Sasuke's group found the search team in the forest and split up accordingly. _She_ must have been the source of the information. Was that her special ability? Shikamaru licked his lips. A girl with ability to see through people's abilities, a liquid man, and mutated one… This was going to be a tough battle.

Unless something turned around the table, he didn't believe that they could hold out much longer.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes widened as the jutsu approached him slowly. The whole thing seemed to be in slow motion and looking at jutsu with his Sharingan, he knew he wouldn't have a chance. Cursing himself for allowing this close proximity to Naruto, he activated his Mangekyou Sharingan in desperation.

Naruto was surprised to see his new jutsu getting sucked into… nothingness? He had no idea what was going on. His hand was still going to Sasuke, but the jutsu wasn't hitting Sasuke.

…..Like it was getting sucked into a different dimension.

Surprised, Naruto's eyes darted to Sasuke's, seeing _his_ Mangekyou Sharingan for the very first time. As soon as their eyes met, Naruto wished that they hadn't.

He fell for the genjutsu..

He was in the middle of Konoha street as a little kid. He tried to call out familiar faces: Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru. But before he could, their parents snatched them away, murmuring foul things about Naruto: a demon child, a bad luck, a burden…

Naruto, facing with his sad past once more, trembled involuntarily. Again, and again, he tried to tell them he was no different from them. But he couldn't find his voice. He wanted to beg. Just give me a chance. Just one. Please don't walk away from me without even knowing anything about me!

Then he saw Iruka-sensei. Smiling broadly, he ran to his beloved sensei. But Naruto froze when he saw the expression on Iruka when he was talking to Kakashi. Iruka didn't seem to notice that Naruto was there.

"I can't believe I have to take care of _that_ in the academy. And he just wouldn't go away. He can't even perform a simple jutsu!"

"Now, Iruka. You can't really expect much from… that demon anyway," said Kakashi



Iruka let out a big sigh. "I just wish I can at least kick him out of the academy. Do you know how much complaint I'm getting from parents? It would be so much better if he hadn't existed at all."

Iruka's last sentenced seared into Naruto's heart. Just how many times did he wish that he never existed? How many times did he try to answer the reason for existence? And here he was, abandoned yet again….

But this time, there was no hope of escaping.

Sasuke watched calmly as his former best friend knelt down and started crying. He made sure that Naruto couldn't use Kyuubi's separate chakra flow to get out of his genjutsu. For Naruto, there was no way to escape the eternal torture from his past.

Naruto gasped for breath, trying to steady himself. Even Iruka-sensei hated him. And it didn't really look like that Kakashi approved of him either. As he was sitting in the shadow, he could hear people talking while they passed him.

"Look at him, sitting dumbly like that. I knew keeping him here was no good."

"No wonder even his parents abandoned him. I wouldn't want a child like that."

A sharp pang pierced through Naruto's heart. He knew nothing about his parents. Who were they? Where were they? Why did they leave him alone here? Were people right? Did they not want him because he was a freak like this?

As questions swirled around his head, he fell into a deep darkness. He just wished to sleep. In an endless sleep to escape all this….

That was all he wanted.

* * *

"Oh no…." murmured Suzaku as she finally arrived Konoha. Things weren't at their worst, but they were still bad. She quickly descended to the front line which was getting pushed back by every minute.

Watching this… deity descend under the bright sunlight was such a spectacle that both sides stopped fighting for a while. None of them had no idea who she was, except Kakashi, that is.

Suigetsu was the first one who snapped out of awe. "Who the hell are you, interrupting our fight?!"

Suzaku didn't say anything, but her eyes narrowed menacingly. Neji and Hinata couldn't help shivering at the mere amount of chakra she was emanating. They also realized who this was. It was Erika, the mysterious girl with silver hair that had run out of village couple weeks ago. Just what in the world was she?!

"My name is Suzaku, the Phoenix of the West, the Guardian of Konoha. Whoever tries to destroy this village will have to go through me first."

* * *

Watching her Kage bunshin, Suzaku quickly scanned the landscape. She already realized that Sasuke and Naruto were missing. They had to be around here somewhere. Her anxiety grew as she couldn't find them.

Then she saw Naruto, crouching on the roof.

Quickly, she lowered her altitude to get to him. Naruto's head was down like he had lost consciousness.

"Naruto!" She shook him. His head popped up without any resistence. Suzaku stopped in surprise as she saw streams of tears from his eyes. Looking at his pupils, she realized that he was in genjutsu, Tsukuyomi to be exact. A normal technique wouldn't save Naruto from this jutsu. She realized that Sasuke had no intention of letting Naruto out of this jutsu. Suzaku grumbled as she put her forehead against Naruto's, hoping that she wasn't too late.

_Naruto….?_

Naruto raised his head when he heard a faint voice, almost like a whisper. Was he dreaming? No one ever called. Ever. Because no one wanted him. But maybe… Maybe… There might be one person who might want him. He didn't care if he was hallucinating. He wanted to hold onto that little hope.

_Naruto!_

The voice was stronger this time. Naruto finally stood up, looking around to find the person who was calling him. But there was no one. Everyone just walked by like he didn't even matter. Naruto was about to cry in anxiety. There was someone who wanted to see him but he couldn't find her. What if she went away because she couldn't find him? He would be alone forever….

Then a bright sunlight was blocked by a huge shadow. He squinted his eyes to see what was coming from the sky and tried to focus.

What he saw was an angel.

The angel landed gracefully on the ground, smiling at Naruto. She had a beautiful red hair and amber eyes that surrounded him with warmth. She held out her arms to hug him. Without hesitation, he ran into her arms. The angel started ascending as soon as she got a good hold onto Naruto. For some reason, he wasn't afraid.

"I… I was waiting for you." Naruto murmured.

"Yeah, sorry I was late," said the angel.

"No one ever loved me. No one ever wanted me…."

"That's not true, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head, smiling at the angel's grateful, but false, words. "Nah, even my parents didn't want me. I….. I really thought that I would be by myself forever."

The angels tightened her grip around him. "Of course not. I've come for you. And everyone is waiting for you."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Everyone?"

"Yeah, Naruto. So you have to wake up now."

* * *

_Wake up…_

Naruto gasped for as if he had been drowned. As he sat up abruptly, he saw…. Rena? But it was different. She had long, pointed ears and wings….

And her eyes resembled those of Kyuubi's…..

"Good morning, sleepy head," said Rena….. or whoever she was. Naruto gaped at her rather stupidly.

"You can't say you don't remember me because I've been out for a while, right?"

"……Rena?!"

"Yep, the one and only."

"What happened to you? What's going on?"

"Well, you se…." Suddenly, she was enveloped in a vortex of chakra. And before he knew what was going on, Rena turned into a girl with silver hair…. Just like how Erika used to look like.

"Ha… hahahahahaha." Rena laughed rather awkwardly.

"OK… I'm really confused," said Naruto.

"I will tell you everything I know. Everything should have been taken care of if I'm in this state."

* * *

Tsunade looked at the silver-haired girl, Kakashi, and Naruto. Sakura managed to fix her up pretty nicely and Suzaku's kage bunshin had done her job as well.

"OK, I need to know what is going on," said Tsunade.

Before anyone could begin, Rena, or Erika, or whatever, stepped forward. "My name is Suzaku the Phoenix of the West. I'm one of the remaining Demon Gods of this world and also the Guardian of Konoha.

"I've been wondering around the countries ever since the civilization began. I helped your grandfather establish this village and he built the Temple of Fire in my honor. I gave two oldest clans of Konoha, Hyuuga and Uchiha, some of my power, Byaku-Sharingan as a gift. Ever since then I would drop by Konoha once in a while to see everything was fine.

Well, as you know, I visited this village again under the alias of Mizaho Rena. During the battle with Orochimaru, I was forced to release some of my demon chakra to defeat him. As a consequence, I was reverted back to a form younger child and my memory was… _is _lost."

Tsunade's eyebrow went up in curiosity. Suzaku sighed.

"Right now, the only memory I have is from the beginning until the establishment of Konoha and the last three months since I visited here. The middle is all blank."

"What do you mean, you were _reverted_ back to a form of a child?" asked Shizune.

"As you can see, I'm not exactly a human. This body.. is more like a container for my chakra. So the age of this body indicates how much chakra I have. Of course, since I had next to no chakra at that time, I was in the form of a child."

"So when you suddenly grew 10 years, it was because…."

Suzaku nodded. "When my life was endangered, my demon-self revealed itself to protect myself. At that time, I lost all of my chakra so that was the only way."

"But why?"

"This was the protocol that other Gods used on me. Since I was the strongest out of all of them, they put some kind of restriction on my power. Every month, for about a week, I lose my chakra completely. I can't even perform a single jutsu."

"So at that time, you sent out that feather.."

"Yes. That was a real feather from my wings." Suzaku smiled.

"And the silver-haired girl that _attacked_ the villagers…."

"That was me as well. Kakashi was taking care of me when I lost my memory." Tsunade glared at Kakashi who avoided her gaze. "He was the only who knew my true identity at that time. He couldn't afford to reveal it without my consent. But with amnesia and everything, I was in no condition to assess the situation and consent. He had no choice but keep me in his house secretly.

But Naruto found me accidentally, and I had to come up with different identity: Erika. And that's how she came about. And right now, I recently used a lot of my chakra but I was forced to be in my demon form to protect this village so I've run out of chakra. So that's why I'm in this form again."

Tsunade rubbed her head. This certainly answered a lot of questions. But to think that the Goddess had been in this village for this long and no one had any idea….

Naruto gaped at her in disbelief as well. He knew something was… special about Rena but he never expected this! He knew basics about Demon Gods and everything because of Neji's and Rena's explanation back in their mission in Suna. But he just overlooked it as a legend…

And here he was… being in the same room with that _legend._

"Well, for now, I suggest that I will stay under alias of Erika. As soon as enough chakra return to me, Erika will be 'back to her Waterfall village,' and Rena will be 'back from her secret diplomatic mission.'"

Tsunade wearily nodded. And everyone was dismissed. Except Suzaku, or Erika from now on.

"So how are the prisoners?" Her voice became serious.

"They're in the special dungeon where all of their chakra flow is blocked. They won't be able to use any of their jutsu. Not even Sharingan."

"Good. Keep them there for a while. Especially Sasuke."

Tsunade looked at her in curiosity. "Why is that?"

Erika smiled tiredly. "I have a special surprise for him."


	32. New Start 1

I hope everyone is enjoying summer! If you _have_ summer, that is. Hahahaha

* * *

"Special surprise?" Tsunade raised her eyebrow.

"Ah, you will see too. Oh, and don't worry about Sasuke."

Tsunade flinched in surprise. That was the exact thing that she was worried about. The special dungeon blocked all the chakra but as a Uchiha, Sasuke didn't need any chakra to activate Sharingan. Who knows what he could do with those eyes? Especially when he developed it into Mangekyou.

"But why…?"

"Let's just say," Erika said sternly. "I decided that he didn't deserve that privilege." Then she walked away.

* * *

"I'm home," said Erika wearily. It has been certainly a while since she came back to Kakashi's house. When she was first here, she was nine years old.

Now, she looked more like eighteen. _How time flies_… She secretly laughed at this nonsense joke.

Kakashi seemed to be in the shower. Pretty sure that he already heard her, she glanced at the clock. It was already nine and it certainly was a long day. Without any delay, she quickly got to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

While being engrossed in making dinner, she felt sudden warmth on her back. Before she could turn around, strong arms enveloped her.

"Ka, Kakashi?!" Erika stopped her cooking in surprise. This wasn't like him at all. And the sudden close proximity made her stomach flutter like a butterfly.

Not really caring what the heck was going on in her head, he rested his chin on her shoulder. He whispered, "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Ah…" Erika rested the utensils on the counter and put her hands on his. "Sorry to surprise you like that. I…. wasn't really myself back then." She trembled as she remembered the encounter with them as Saiyen. To think that she almost killed Naruto and endangered everyone….

"Yeah. I'm glad you're back to normal."

Erika chuckled. "I don't think I can ever consider myself as normal."

Kakashi agreed, laughing along. He backed away and she felt a sudden coldness. She was surprised that she missed that warmth. How long has it been since anyone held her like that?

"If you're done with being sentimental, why don't you go get a shirt?"

Grumbling, Kakashi went into his room.

* * *

"Having a nice sleep?" rang a cold voice in the dungeon.

The last Uchiha raise his head, finding a familiar looking girl except now she had a silver hair. He groaned in anger. For some odd reason, he couldn't activate his Sharingan to take the girl down. He didn't know how but he knew that this woman had to do with it. He glared at her in hatred.

"Ah, you can't really glare at someone who has bestowed with your clan with this." Erika sat down with Byaku-Sharingan activated. She had to deactivate it quickly to save her chakra but it was enough time for Sasuke to notice it. Byaku-Sharingan… Could this mean….?

"You humans never know when to say 'Thank you.'" The Goddess chuckled.

"Why are you here? Are you here to kill _me _as well?" Sasuke asked coldly.

_So he knows…_ she mused. She glanced at the giant scythe in her hand. Maybe she was giving away with this thing in her hand, but oh well. She just has taken care of rest of Sasuke's team, Team Falcon. It wasn't hard to end their lives as the Goddess of Death. Of course, all of them ended up in Hell.

And here she was, standing in front of the _last_ Uchiha. Or he thought.

"Well, I'm not going to kill you now. Not yet."

"Phm, I don't need mercy from you."

"If I were you," her voice suddenly went as hard as steel, making even Sasuke tremble, "I would make sure to give some respect that anyone deserves. Especially when you're talking to the Goddess who practically established this clan. Also don't forget that I can end your life easily if you so wish me to."

"So what should I do? Kiss you feet and say 'Thank you'? This… This Sharingan has brought nothing but war, blood, and betrayals.. and….." Sasuke couldn't continue and he started breaking down. Why was it that he couldn't hide anything from her? His strong inner defense was breaking down so fast in front of her. It was as if… he wanted to trust her and her to trust him.

Erika knelt down and stared at the shackled hands. She couldn't take them away now. Not yet. Not when she wasn't still sure what he might do. He was still considered dangerous. Itachi would better make here quickly, she thought. Sasuke didn't have much time before he emotionally broke down. Especially when she took away Sharingan from him. Kekkei Genkai was something like a second nature to the user. Sasuke would feel an endless emptiness as his Sharingan was taken away.

She couldn't help feeling bad but it had to be done for the sake of Konoha. If the return of Itachi made him any better, then she wouldn't hesitate to give it back to him. Although Konoha was more important to her, Sasuke did matter to her.

"I won't lie about the mistakes that the village has made. What the elders and the others have done to your family can't be justified for any reason. However, you can not blame just one person for this tragedy. It was a vicious cycle begun by Madara, your ancestor. The tragedy that happened to your family was a result of series of unfortunate events. Never forget that."

Sasuke glared at her in disapproval. Erika sighed. She guessed that it would be too early for him to believe that. Hopefully, her special surprise will change the situation. Until then, she had no choice but lock him up until she was sure that his hatred for the village was gone.

Without any other word, she walked away, leaving the fuming Uchiha behind.

* * *

"Long day?" asked Kakashi as Erika walked in. She tiredly nodded.

"I just saw Sasuke."

"Oh?" Kakashi was interested. Not wanting to drag on with the story, she just said, "he still needs to be locked up because he still hates this village for what they have made Itachi do."

Kakashi nodded slowly. He already heard about the truth behind Itachi's action from Tsunade earlier. Even he couldn't believe his ears as he listened to the story. He couldn't imagine the shock on Sasuke who hated his brother for all his life. The foundation of his deep belief had been ripped off. Now what was he going to do with raw, bare heart?

As if she was reading his mind, "He will have to move on. He has a strong heart."

"Don't you think that it's a little bit too much, even for Sasuke?" Kakashi's voice was full of concern.

"I know." She answered grimly. "But that's why I have a special surprise for him."

"Special surprise?"

Erika smilied brilliantly. "You will know soon enough."

* * *

When Kakashi woke up next morning, he found his place…. clean. Something that he particularly didn't like. Especially when it was done without his consent. He glared at Erika who was preparing breakfast like she did nothing.

"Erika.. I told you _not _to clean my house. Did you forget that already?"

She turned around with teary eyes. "You _really_ think I did that?"

Kakashi was surprised with how much effect that had. "Of, of course not." He mumbled.

She tried to hold her laughter but couldn't. She laughed so loudly that she had to lean herself on the chair, holding herself upright. "Oh, wow. I can't believe how dense you can be. Haven't you realized it _yet_?"

"...What?"

"Didn't you _ever_ wonder why everyone was so trusting to me?" She barely managed to finish the sentence.

Then Kakashi realized it as well. He meant to ask that question all the time, but whenever he was near her, he felt…. Entranced in a way. It was as if she had an aura around her that hypnotized people. And whenever he came to her to ask about that, he would always forget.

"Well, I'm just going to tell you, got it?" Kaakshi nodded. "As a God… How should I say it? You guys can be considered as my 'surbordinates.' As one of the privileges of your boss, we Gods have a special power to make people trust and obey us. It's really subtle so we can't directly make you do that. We just happen to have an enormous amount of influence on you."

Kakashi nodded knowingly. That made a lot of sense now. If anyone else had caused as much trouble as Erika, that person would have been thrown out of the village a long time ago.

"So you were using your power to get out of trouble?" Kakashi accused jokingly.

"Oh, shut up. You do that a lot too." Erika snapped back. "You thought I wouldn't notice that? How you get away from not paying your bills with your newfound smile, Mr. Ladies' Man?"

Kakashi cringed back. It was true that a lot of women went all over him now that he had removed that _suspicious_ mask. So he decided to have some fun with it and take advantage while he could. But he never imagined she actually knew about this! He turned his head away in embarrassment. Erika laughed at his reaction.

It was decided that she would stay as Kakashi's cousin until her memory/chakra came back. And judging by her adulthood appearance and the fact that the memory was coming back rather fast, it wasn't going to be too long before she regained her memory and chakra. But before the time came, she could have some fun, couldn't she?

* * *

"Oi, Naruto!" Naruto turned around to see Rena, no, _Erika_ waving at him. He waved at her halfheartedly. Before he even knew, she was right next to him. Not knowing how the heck she did that, he blinked rather stupidly.

"What's up with the gloomy face? Did something happen?" She asked worriedly.

Naruto shook his head, but she knew for sure that something was wrong. Somewhat frustrated, she grabbed his arm and poof, they were gone.

"Where, where are we?" asked Naruto, looking around. One moment ago, they were in the middle of street, but now….

They were on the hills.

He blinked and stared at the village. He's never been to this place, but he immediately felt familiar to it and like it. He felt as if he met an old friend. How strange, considering that he was positive that he's never been here.

"Now you can tell me what's going on, can't you, Naruto? There is no one except you and me."

He was surprised at the sheer influence on her voice. It made him want to tell her what was going on in his mind. Something that had been bothering him since yesterday…

He shook it off. It had nothing to do with Erika. Besides, he didn't want to look like a weakling. "It's nothing." He brushed it off.

But it made Erika even more frustrated. Somehow her power didn't work as well on Naruto. There were some people who could resist to her power. But oh well, she had no choice but to press it… just a bit harder.

"Come on, Naruto," she coaxed sweetly. "I just want to help. If you let me know what's going on, you will feel much better."

Naruto's heart thudded as he realized how much persuasion the sweet voice had. Maybe… She wouldn't laugh at his problem, right? Her deep, sincere amber eyes relaxed him.

"I miss my parents." He spat it out before he could even think further about it.

Erika, somewhat surprised by Naruto's bluntness, was surprised. Naruto was quickly disappointed and tried to stand up. "Forget what I said," he mumbled.

When he was standing up, Erika grabbed his wrist. "No." She said defiantly. "I don't think that's weird at all. I was… just surprised because you said it so suddenly. Just tell me. I will listen."

Naruto's blue eyes faltered slightly. Sighing deeply, he sat down. Staring blankly at the village, he continued his story. "It's just… that genjutsu yesterday."

Erika shuddered. She remembered it as well. She had to get into his mental realm to get him out of there. She had been there for minutes, but she couldn't help feeling endless loneliness and darkness. To think that Naruto had to live there for years…. She couldn't even imagine how Naruto stayed the way he was right now.

"I have always wondered… about my parents. Who were they? Why weren't they here? Where were they right now?"

She didn't say anything in return because she knew she couldn't say any. She desperately wished that her memory was back. Then she might be able to tell him something. She might know something. But for now, all she could do was listen to him.

"Maybe people were right. They did abandon me because…. Because of what I am." Naruto laughed weakly. "I mean, who would want a jinchuuriki like me…."

Naruto stopped. Because he had to do. His hand was on his cheek which was red and somewhat swollen. His surprised eyes turned to Erika's hand which was in the air. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"Don't you _dare_ say something horrible like that, Naruto. You don't even know what had happened at that time. How can you know what they were feeling or thinking? How could you say something like that bout yourself?"

Naruto couldn't help snapping back. "_You_ don't know what had happened at that time either! If they really loved me, they should have stayed with me! They should have come back for me! Not make me wait for them like this! Do you even know how it feels like to long for something that might never come true?!"

…..Was that what he had wanted to tell everyone all this time…? Something that no one could understand? He locked away these feelings because he knew no one could empathize with him. Then what was the point of telling them and making them feel sorry for him? He didn't want to be seen weak. No, he wanted to be someone who was strong enough to overcome these feelings. But… in truth… He did feel lonely and secretly he wished that he could share this with someone.

Erika, overwhelmed with tons of emotions, couldn't say anything and just tightly hugged him. "You can't say things like that about yourself, Naruto. I don't care if you're a normal person or jinchuuriki. You're still a dear child from this village and I will love you no matter what. I'm sure that's what everyone's feeling right now. They might have thought otherwise in the past, but you have proved yourself worthy of trust and love. So, please. Don't torture yourself like that."

He could feel that Erika was crying. He didn't even know why she was crying for him. In fact, she didn't either. But something hard in Naruto's heart cracked and melted away. As he felt that, he couldn't fight back his tears anymore.

* * *

"Welcome home." Kakashi flinched. He kept forgetting about Erika's existence in his house. Well, he could get used to it soon enough. For some reason, he didn't like the idea of it. He warily waved at her. She worriedly came to his side. He looked battered up, if not injured. She was relieved to see that injuries weren't that bad.

Kakashi had been on the mission outside of the village for three days. The mission was successful but he was dead tired. He felt lucky that there was someone who was tending his house and she would be soon tending him. Grumbling, he collapsed on his bed.

"Kakashi! I told you not to get on your bed with dirty clothes!" Erika shouted, carrying a first-aid kit with her.

She put ointment and bandages around the numerous cuts. "You know, you seem to be getting more of these after each missions. Are you sure you're not getting stale?" She giggled.

"Ah, I must be getting old. At least, I have someone I can count on." Kakashi grinned. He was dying to see her reaction, but her face was curtained by her long, silver hair.

Casually, he held out his hand to unveil her face. Curiously, she looked up, wondering what was wrong. Their gaze was locked at each other's eyes for a while when….

"Sorry to interrupt the moment, but I'm in a hurry right now."

Erika and Kakashi, surprised, looked at the window. Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes and he was almost going to shout when a hand blocked his mouth.

"Well, you took long enough," said Erika rather calmly.

Standing on Kakashi's windowsill was none other than Uchiha Itachi.


	33. New Start 2

"I, Itachi?" Kakashi stammered through Erika's hand. Releasing Kakashi, she gracefully walked to the window as Itachi climbed down. Itachi gratefully took her hand since he was very tired.

"How are you feeling?" asked Erika quite unnecessarily. Itachi merely shrugged.

Kakashi, snapping out of his daze, shouted, "_this_ was the special surprise?!"

"It sure is a surprise, isn't it?" Erika said it very casually, which Kakashi didn't like at all. He eyed Itachi carefully. "But _you._ You were supposed to be dead. No, you _were_ dead. Last time I checked for Sasuke, I found you…"

"Let's just say I got a second chance." Itachi answered curtly, not wanting to give away too much information.

Kakashi looked at Itachi and then his gaze turned to Erika. Two seemed to know each other. More importantly, she knew that he was coming. Could that mean….?

"_You_ brought him here?" Kakashi asked incredulously. Ignoring Kakashi, she handed Itachi a piece of paper.

"This is how you get to the dungeon. …Talk some sense into him, will you?"

Itachi heavily nodded. "Is everything all right with him?"

Erika didn't meet his eyes. "I have to say it was really close. He did endanger Tsunade." She saw Itachi flinch. "He's in perfect health, but…"

She held out one hand and a sphere of what looked like a hologram appeared. It was a red sphere with a curious drawings on it.

It took some moment but Itachi realized what it was. It was Sasuke's Sharingan… Before he could protest, the sphere was gone and Erika curtly declared, "Unless I'm sure that he will no longer be a threat to the village, I will not grant him this power."

"You know _I_ still have that power." Itachi said darkly.

Erika didn't even flinch at Itachi's threat. She merely turned around with a cold stare. "Do you think I can't take away yours?"

Itachi just let out a small laugh, admitting his defeat. "I will try my best. I just hope… Sasuke can forgive me for what I have done."

"The problem isn't if he can forgive you. It's if he can forgive what the village has made you do." She pointed at the piece of paper. "You have until the dawn. In the morning, I will report to Hokage-sama about your arrival. So if you want to do anything with Sasuke, it'd better be done tonight."

Itachi nodded and headed out. But he didn't forget to say "Thank you."

* * *

"You… you didn't tell me that Itachi was coming." Kakashi awkwardly accused.

"I don't remember having to tell you _everything_." Erika casually answered back.

"But…." Kakashi was at loss of words. But what? It wasn't like she was his daughter, or wife. She was just…. A roommate, considering the situation. She was right. She didn't have to tell him everything. So why did he feel so betrayed?

Erika headed to the couch and lied down. Her eyes were already half-closed from tiredness. "I'm sorry if you felt left out… I just thought it was too sensitive to tell anyone about… And I didn't really have any time to properly tell you even if I wanted to…."

Thinking about what she had said, it was true. Right after the "invasion" was over, he headed out to this mission and hadn't been back for days. Feeling rather sorry for accusing her, he put his head down on the…. Pillow?

"Wait, _you_ are sleeping on the couch?" asked Kakashi. Ever since Erika regained her age, (remember? She used to be nine years old) he was kicked out of his own bed and forced to sleep on the couch. Today, however, Erika voluntarily took the couch to Kakashi's great surprise.

"You're back from mission…." She answered slowly and wearily, obvious sign of drifting to sleep. "Just today… You're on the bed."

"Not even tomorrow?" He asked, hoping that she might say yes in half-sleep.

"_Not_ tomorrow." She answered firmly and passed out to sleep.

* * *

The next morning was nothing different from the usual. But for Tsunade, it was hell of a morning.

First was a sudden arrival Jiraiya. She hated whenever he just _poofed_ into her office. As a Hokage, she deemed that at least she deserved a nice knock on the door. Not a nasty surprise like that. But oh well, it _was_ Jiraiya after all. She wondered if he had any useful information this time.

"You have been out for a long time." Tsunade casually said to the Sannin without even looking up.

"Well, this time, the research had been tricky, but more rewarding." Jiraiya chuckled.

"Oh?" She finally decided to move her head toward him. "That sounds good. What have you found?"

"Why don't we go out for a Sake before we do that? It's been a while." He smoothly offered.

Drinking alcohol in the middle of office hour was strictly forbidden, but Tsunade couldn't help smiling. Ah, what the heck. Sake with a good friend didn't sound so bad. She put away her documents and headed outside.

It was a clear day with a bit of crispy, cold air. It was already end of February so the weather was getting warm—towards spring. But the winter was still up in the air. Tsunade breathed the cold air deeply. This not-too-cold-but-not-warm weather helped her clear her mind. They found the Sake house, which was fortunately open, and took their seats.

"So, what did you find?" She asked without hesitation.

"Geez, Tsunade, can't you just enjoy Sake right now? You sound too much like Hokage." He complained.

She laughed at his comment. Maybe he was right. Being a Hokage did bring a lot of responsibilities and duties to her. But as she thought about it, she knew that she never regretted taking the position. To think that she almost refused it….

Seeing a small smile forming in Tsunade's face, Jiraiya asked, "Now, what's on your mind? Not another scheme, I hope."

"What are you talking about? I'm not you, Jiraiya. I was just…. thinking about the time when you and Naruto came to pick me up."

"Ah, that time…." Jiraiya's eyes twinkled with nostalgia.

"Yeah, I never imagined that I would lose that bet. Che, I really must be the unluckiest person in the world."

"But you know that you were glad to lose _that_ bet."

Tsunade stared at her cup without answer, but Jiraiya wasn't asking—it was a statement. A true one. That boy… has rekindled her care for village and the dream that she had wanted to forget.

"Naruto… does have a strange power, doesn't he?" She commented.

"Yeah. He will make a great Hokage, just like Minato."

"Teaching your student's son would be very interesting."

Before answering, Jiraiya took another Sake. "Well, yes and no. The only ones who know Naruto's heritage are you, me and the elders, if you don't count the Third, that is."

"I was surprised that he even had a child. I heard it from the Elders about.. the incident."

Jiraiya instantly knew that Tsunade meant the Kyuubi. "Yeah. I wish I was back in the village when it happened. I… could have helped. Maybe I could have prevented what had happened."

"Idiot. You know it can't be helped now. Don't even think about blaming yourself."

"Yeah, what am I doing?" Jiraiya chuckled darkly and took Sake. "I just wish I know what happened to his mother, Kushina."

Tsunade flinched, remembering her past investigation. "So, you _do_ remember Kushina, right?"

He laughed at her question. "How could you forget that red-haired knucklehead ninja? She was really strong though. And beautiful."

"Jiraiya, there is something wrong."

His ears perked up when he heard Tsunade's story. How she came to investigate about Kushina, and the surprising result was that… no one remembered her. It was as if she never existed in this village.

"At least I know that I'm not some lunatic who thinks someone exists. But…." Tsunade was in thoughts. "I think that ever since I got here, my memory about her is fading."

"Well, of course. No memory is forever."

"No, I mean, it's faster than normal. If I haven't talked to you about her just now, I might have forgotten about her completely too. Maybe there is something done about that."

"Tsunade, you're kidding. Why would someone bother to do that? I mean, I can't even think of a jutsu that will make people forget something faster."

She didn't say anything in return, but she just drank Sake. "You know, you're right. Maybe I _am_ thinking too much. But it would be nice to remember her. She really did love this village, even though she was from Whirlpool."

"Yeah, she was a great shinobi." Jiraiya changed the subject. "Well, now I should tell you something very important. I have found a hiding place of Akatsuki leader. It's in Ame (Hidden Village in Rain)."

Tsunade stopped her hand in midair. She was feeling woozy from the alcohol, but now it was clear. Her faltering eyes met Jiraiya's which were calm and determined.

"Let me guess. You want to go there yourself." Tsuande gritted out.

"Tsunade…"

"NO, Jiraiya. You _know_ it's too dangerous. I won't let you go into danger by yourself." She was shaking violently. She didn't want to lose another important person. Not again. "If you won't accept help, then _I_ will go."

"What are you talking about? You're Hokage. You have to stay here for the sake of village."

Tsunade groaned loudly. She knew that if Jiraiya made up his mind, he wouldn't deter at anything.

"Don't worry. I'm not that weak. I'm called Sannin for a reason." Jiraiya said it brightly, but it didn't seem to elevate her mood. "Besides, I'm choosing to do this. As you became Hokage for this village, I want to do something for Konoha as well."

Tsunade didn't say anything but kept drinking Sake. He knew she was mad at him for this. But he couldn't help it. He had to do this, or he would feel like a useless old man who couldn't do anything.

"I want to help preserve this village as much as the Third, Minato did. I care as much about the village as that punk does. And his son is no different. I want to make sure that the future that Minato had sacrificed for is going to be fulfilled."

Tsunade's head was down. She was holding it, but he could see tears dripping from her face. Finally, she managed to say, "Don't die, you idiot. Make sure you get back to this village, bastard."

Jiraiya smiled warmly. Hesitantly, he put his hand on her shoulder. He was glad that she wasn't going to punch him like other times. Leaving her behind, he headed outside.

* * *

"Eh? Jiraiya-sama?" A girl seemed to be surprised at his sudden visit. But she wasn't the only one surprised.

Jiraiya stared at the beautiful pink-haired girl, no woman. She looked around twenty and her rather big clothes didn't help hiding her _gorgeous _body. He almost drooled before she reminded him.

"Didn't you learn your lesson from trying to peek at the girl's side of bathhouse?"

The voice and the tone snapped the memory back to Jiraiya and he blurted out, "Rena?!"

She laughed loudly as she tied her long hair. "Good, I guess the lesson is still in your brain."

Jiraiya quickly defended himself. "No, I knew you were in Kakashi's house. I mean, I heard everything from Tsunade." She stopped walking for a moment but she didn't seem to mind. "I… I just don't know how to treat you now." He mumbled.

"Just how you've been treating me." She took out cups of tea. "I wasn't offended back then, so I won't be offended now, right? If you become awkward, then I will be awkward too."

He just took a sip of tea. It was easy to say, but hard to do. But he knew this argument wouldn't go anywhere if he continued so he decided to change the subject. "So where is Kakashi?"

"Ah.. He went to see Hokage-sama." Then she told him the story of Itachi. Well, not all of it, but most of it so that it would make sense. It wasn't that she wanted to hide something from Jiraiya—she was just too lazy.

Jiraiya's mouth opened (literally) in surprise. Something he could never imagine to happen was happening at this very moment.

"So you're saying that there is a possibility that Itachi and Sasuke might be back for good?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah," she answered happily. "At least, Naruto will be happy."

Jiraiya couldn't help smiling at the notion. Yes, Naruto would be very happy indeed.


	34. New Start 3

Mwahahahahaha, I'm so bored and I have nothing to do except writing this! That's why updates are so fast.

* * *

Erika didn't spend long to prepare. Jiraiya casually asked where she was going. She answered that she was going to see Uchihas in rather nonchalant manner.

"You're going _where_?" Jiraiya asked incredulously. Erika chuckled at his reaction. It was so much like Jiraiya. Man, she missed this man a lot.

"Like I told you, I'm supposed to escort Sasuke and Itachi to Hokage's office. In fact, I'm already late." Erika scowled as she glanced at the clock. She hurriedly started heading out. Snapping out of his initial shock, Jiraiya followed her.

"Wait, wait. But how are you going to explain to the village? I'm sure Tsunade will be fine since she knows everything. But you do realize that the information concerning the Elders and Itachi is confidential no matter what." Jiraiya's face grew serious, almost threatening.

However, Erika didn't even seem to care about his concern/threat. She merely shook her head and headed to the dungeon without any word. Somewhat worried and anticipated at the same time, Jiraiya followed. She didn't seem to mind him tagging along.

Under the mountain where the faces of Hokages were carved was a passage and barely anyone knew. The tunnel was dark and narrow with no lights. Erika easily created a little flame on her palm, creating a small light. Jiraiya had a better look around the tunnel. He could feel a special characteristic in this tunnel. Actually, he knew about this special rock found only in Konoha already.

The rock under the mountain had a special ability to wipe out people's chakra. The depper, the stronger its power was. The dungeon was created approximately 30 feet below the mountain for the maximum effect. The power of this mysterious stone was relatively unknown, being only discovered around a couple of decades ago. Usually, they were left alone and used as places for dungeons like this but recently, a way to use the grinded stone to erase the trace of chakra by mixing it with the fabric was discovered in Konoha.

"So are you going to tell me how Sasuke and Itachi will assimilate with the villagers? Many people still think that Itachi betrayed his clan."

Erika stopped for a moment without answering. The flame flickered, creating dancing shadows along the wall. She seemed to stare at those shadows. Jiraiya waited patiently, knowing that she would answer his question somehow this time.

"Since my chakra is back to almost normal, I will be able to do something." She avoided a direct answer, much to his dislike. He just decided that she would tell him (or rather, everyone) eventually when she felt it was necessary.

It might not have been long, but because of the darkness and silence, the walk felt very long to Jiraiya. But a while later, they arrived in front of a big steel door. Without any hesitation, she firmly held the door handle and pulled it with great force. The door opened so slowly that Jiraiya was painful with anticipation. In fact, he didn't know how to react when he really saw Uchihas. And when he did, he still didn't know.

Sasuke was sitting on the white marble floor, his hands shackled to the wall which was made out of same stone. Jiraiya remembered that marble was the best stone to carry out any special power or chakra, and one of the strongest when it came to sustaining the physical force. Itachi was standing right next to him in black robe, staring calmly at Erika. He didn't seem to be surprised at Jiraiya's visit, even though he wouldn't have had any idea about the unexpected visitor. A bright electric light gave a eerie feeling to the entire room and Jiraiya felt an uneasy tension in the room.

Itachi gave her a slight nod and Jiraiya could instantly see that Erika had relaxed. _Of course_, he thought. _Out of all of us, she should be the most nervous one._ He marveled at her inner strength. After all, if _she_ showed any fear, then who could they depend on? She had to be strong for their sake. To be a leader was a hard job.

Erika took big strides towards the brothers, followed by Jiraiya. She looked at Itachi.

"How did it go?" She asked rather excitedly.

Itachi merely shrugged. "It will definitely take a while, but I think he's ready."

She didn't say anything for a response but squatted in front of Sasuke instead. He lazily raised his head to meet the girl's gaze. Jiraiya could tell that Sasuke had been through a lot. Emotionally. His eyes were tired, shocked, but he was accepting everything. Good and bad, to Jiraiya's delight. Erika seemed to sense this difference as well. She smiled contently. She stood up and faced Itachi, ready for a big news.

"Well, I definitely think that you guys are ready to talk to Hokage-sama about staying in this village."

This was a big shock to Itachi and Sasuke. Itachi's eyes widened in surprise while Sasuke jerked his head up to stare at Erika. What was she thinking? What would seeing Hokage make anything different? In fact, the brothers had decided to leave the village once Erika had deemed Sasuke safe. Sure, Itachi had done nothing wrong and neither did Sasuke (except almost killing Hokage, but barely anyone knew that), but the entire village still believed that Itachi betrayed his family and Sasuke betrayed his village for the sake of power. How was she going to convince the _entire_ village? Hokage was an easy deal, since she knew everything about the struggle between the village and the Uchihas. But the village? Not a chance.

Erika just shook her head in frustration. "Please, can't you give me some faith? I mean, you should know by now that when I _do _something, I know what I'm doing."

Everyone was silent at her remark. They hated to admit, but it was true. Even Sasuke admitted it. This girl (or woman) looked harmless, but he knew well what an incredible shinobi she could be. He would never forget the fight that they had: the frightening power of Byaku-Sharingan, the swift movements, and the cursed red lotus mark made by five diamonds on her forehead. As much as he had thought she was crazy for locking him up in this place and easily killing his _comrades_, after meeting with Itachi, he grudgingly agreed with his brother that she really knew what she was doing.

Erika squatted down again and grabbed the shackle. With a flow of chakra, the shackle was easily broken. Sasuke could see the red lotus flashing on her forehead again for a brief moment. Jiraiya also made a comment. "Well, if _that_ isn't strange."

Knowing what he was talking about, she simply explained, "This rock can only block _human_ chakra. If I release my demon chakra, then it won't have any effect."

"So, let's say if _Naruto_ was locked here," said Jiraiya. "He wouldn't be able to use his chakra, but he would be able to use Kyuubi's?"

Erika nodded. "After all, human chakra and demon chakra have different characteristics. Trust me, the rock does have effect on demon chakra as well since there are similarities, but I can summon enough chakra to break this thing."

Sasuke wearily stood up, having a little trouble moving his legs since he was locked up here for a few days. Itachi quickly came to his aid. Feeling his old memories coming back from his childhood, the brothers couldn't help smiling. All the misunderstanding and wrong paths had been finally cleared. A new life awaited them. What kind of they would have would be determined by the Goddess in front of them. Somehow Sasuke didn't dislike the idea of it. He got a chance at a new life because of her—a better life, he might add.

"Ah, Jiraiya-sama." The old man glanced at the girl when his name was called. "Could you do me a favor and bring Naruto, Sakura and Sai to Hokage's office?" With a nod, he disappeared.

Erika smiled at the brothers. With a poof, they were all teleported to Hokage's office.

* * *

_A while ago…_

"What did you say?" Tsunade gaped at the gray-haired man. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. At first, she thought that Sake she had must have been still deluding her head. But now the shock from his news cleared her head and her brain was telling her that she heard the news correctly.

Kakashi was just as confused as she was. He merely added, "All I know is that Erika will be here with them any moment. I couldn't hear about the details myself. I think she's planning to do it when all key members are here."

Tsunade groaned in frustration and anticipation. The story that Kakashi had told her made her head spin (and it was _not_ because of Sake). She knew that Team Kakashi had reported Itachi's death. But now, he was telling her that Itachi was alive now! And somehow, Itachi talked some sense into Sasuke and Erika would bring them to her. She finally figured out that Sasuke knew about the truth behind the struggle between the leaders and his family, which helped her figure out the reason behind his invasion to Konoha. She had no idea how Erika was going to fix this complicated, and delicate, mess, but it seemed that she had a decent idea about what she was going to do.

Without further ado, the trio appeared. Tsunade was expecting them, but she still couldn't hide her surprise. Sasuke definitely looked tired from his imprisonment but his eyes sparkled with expectation and... hope. Itachi's calm eyes drifted to Tsunade's and when they met, he curtly bowed his head to Hokage. Erika, now her white (or silver) hair shaded to pink, smiled and waved her hand.

"So I can assume that your chakra level is almost normal." Tsunade noted to Erika.

"Hahaha, yeah. It will still take a couple of weeks until I get all of my chakra and memory back." She scratched the back of her head.

"How much of your memory is back?"

"Hm, about a couple decade is still missing, but that's not really a big deal. And it will eventually come back."

The people in Hokage's office all knew that they were avoiding the most critical issue. Itachi finally decided to bring it up for his and Sasuke's sake.

"What are you planning to do with us?" He curtly asked.

Kakashi somewhat grimaced at the direct confrontation, but Erika didn't seem to mind at all. She just shrugged and said, "When everyone's here, I will start. Ah, can you summon Shizune here?"

Tsunade did what she asked and Shizune arrived shortly after. Soon, Jiraiya, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai arrived as well. Tsunade stared at them surprised and asked rather harshly, "Now, what the hell are you guys doing here?"

Before any of them answered (if they could, that is), Erika cut them off. "I asked Jiraiya-sama to bring them here. It's essential that they are in this room right now."

"I guess you're going to crack your plan _now_," said Kakashi, anxious to know what she was going to do.

Erika nodded, to everyone's delight. "Well, I'm going to tweak everyone's memory."

A stunned silence filled the air. Finally, Jiraiya commented, "Doesn't that require lots of chakra _and_ days of preparation?"

"No, I'm not going to do with with jutsus. It's more like… a formula."

"A formula? What the hell is that?" Naruto was definitely confused, but then, so was everyone.

"A formula is a spell-like jutsu that affects a certain area. All the user has to do is contain a certain area and _write_ a seal somewhere. Anyone who is in the area at the time of the completion of formula will be affect by it. But also, if anyone comes into that area, they will be affected as well." Itachi calmly explained. Knowing what a formula was, he knew what she was about to do and couldn't hide his surprise.

Erika gazed at him impressively. "Wow, I thought everyone in this era forgot about this technique. Itachi is right. I have checked before, but it seems that I had already enclosed this area for some reason," she shrugged, "so I don't have worry about that anymore. I will alter people's memory about Itachi and Sasuke. Anyone living here will be affected by this immediately. If anyone, who knows about the truth about Itachi and Sasuke, visits here, their memory will be affected by the formula as well. The good thing about the formula is that it is continuous, rather than instant like jutsu. This way, I can ensure that anyone who gets into this village will not know the truth about what really happened. The only people who will _not_ be affected are the people in this room. That's why I summoned all the important people here. I believed that you people deserved to know—or rather, remember--this."

"But how is that possible? People's minds are more complicated than that." Shizune commented.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure no one really thinks _that_ hard about Uchihas in this village anyway since it's kind of considered as a taboo. Besides, the formula is not going to affect their brains majorly."

"But how are you going to alter their memory? I mean, what would people think of us then?" asked Sasuke, somewhat nervous about this whole… operation.

Erika thought for a while. "Hm, what about this? A foreign clan from different village killed your entire clan in fear that your clan would surpass them and you and Itachi were only survivors. With no clues Itachi swore to avenge his family and went out alone to look for them, leaving you in care of Hokage. But then he didn't return for years, and you decided to look for him. And now here you guys are." She clapped contently at her fantasy story.

The brothers thought for a moment. The story didn't sound too bad. It was possible anyway. As an approval, they both shrugged their shoulders. Tsunade didn't seem that approving however.

"Are you sure about this? I mean there should be other ways."

"What other ways? There is no way that both of them can join this village right now. Not without revealing the critical information. I've done some thinking too, but this _is _the best way." Erika assured.

Tsunade groaned in response. She reluctantly agreed with Erika. Satisfied, Erika opened the window and held out her hands together in the middle. With swift movement, she spread her hands to sideways. When she did, bands of bright letters appeared. Naruto tried to comprehend what was written, but he couldn't. He assumed that this was some kind of ancient language. They were beautiful nonetheless. There were two bands total in different colors: one in red, one in yellow. They looked totally different, so he could tell that they were different formulas.

Tsunade eyed the bands carefully. She didn't have any knowledge of ancient language either—it was a dead language. But it didn't take a genius to figure out that Erika had already set up two formulas. For what reason, she didn't know. Probably Erika didn't know yet either. After all, her memory wasn't entirely back to normal yet.

Erika stared at them happily, mused in their beauty. She casually held out her right index fingers and began to write in midair. As she did, glowing letters started to form, green in color. Everyone's eyes followed her hand in wonder. But she looked perfectly at ease, knowing exactly what she was doing.

After she was done, the band of letters waved slightly as if it was in the water. Then, slowly, the band joined the rest, setting firmly around the dome for the formula that had been created by Erika god-knows-how-long-ago.

Naruto glanced out the window and found something funny. "Hey," he called out. "How come everyone's passed out?"

At Naruto's discovery, everyone looked outside. His words were true. Everyone on the street were on the ground, sleeping. It was as if the entire village was hit with a bomb with sleeping gas. It gave an eerie feeling to those in Hokage's office. Tsunade gave a worried glance at Erika, but she didn't seem to be worried.

"Don't worry. People need to rewire their memory once this formula is activated. That's why they're _passed out_. They will wake up in couple of minutes."

Like she had said, people began to wake up and began their ordinary life. In no time, people were back to normal as if nothing had happened.

But apparently, something _did_ happen because Erika turned around to face everyone in the office. Her eyes were fixed on Uchihas and she was smiling.

"Welcome to the new beginning."


	35. Turning the table

Everyone just blinked. Kakashi managed to speak out, "That's it?"

"What? You don't like it?" Erika asked back casually.

"It's not that we don't like it," Itachi finally collected his thoughts. "It's just… It seemed too _simple_. Are you sure it worked?"

Erika scoffed at Itachi's (well, more like _everyone's_) remark. She seemed to be pretty offended that no one really trusted her. She roughly grabbed Sasuke, which surprised everyone. But Sasuke could tell that she had no malice in her grip. She broke Sasuke away from his brother and marched to the door.

Everyone was too stunned to stop her at the moment, but before they could, she declared, "I'm going to take him to the restaurant. He will have better chance of survival than Itachi _if_ anything happens with the villagers. (She didn't forget to smirk.) Itachi, you will wait in your manor. I used to live there for a while, so it wouldn't be horribly messy. If you don't feel like walking on the street—and trust me, you _can. _Then you can just use your jutsu, I don't care. Sasuke will tell you how our _date_ went." Frowning, she slammed the door behind, leaving everyone speechless.

Jiraiya was the first one to react: laugh. His laugh roared to fill the dead silence in the office. Itachi nervously glanced at Hokage who in return, looked rather stunned. But she closed her eyes and let out a small laugh.

"If Erika is that pissed about everyone not trusting her, then I'm sure the job is well done. I don't think I ever saw her mad like that." Jiraiya managed to say that in his nonstop laughter.

Kakashi's eyes nervously glanced at Itachi and then to the door. Jiraiya could hear him mumble, "….calling it _date_"….

Jiraiya hid his another smile. Hm, what should he say? He had this funny feeling about Kakashi ever since he heard the story from Tsunade about them. How… what should he say? How Kakashi was always caring and protective about this girl—more than any teammate would do, that is. He practically almost jeopardized his shinobi career in order to protect the girl's identity. It seemed that his unusual behavior didn't catch anyone's attention—not even himself. But it sure didn't escape Jiraiya's eyes. Jiraiya wasn't sure for himself until he heard Kakashi's subconscious murmur. Chuckling, he strode toward the silver-haired nin.

"What do you say that we catch up for now, eh?"

Kakashi looked at him surprised. But he didn't dislike the idea so he agreed.

The two men disappeared in smoke.

* * *

"Where are we going? Let go of me!" The teen shouted.

Abruptly, Erika let go of his arm. He could feel his arm tingling with blood rush. Grumbling, he asked, "Why are you so pissy anyway? It's not like…"

"_Excuse me,_" she turned toward him, full of anger. "_I _had to use up a lot of chakra to resurrect your brother, busted my ass trying to save Konoha from _you_, AND practically messed up everyone's mind so that they would remember you guys as heroes not traitors. Instead of _thank you_, all I get is… is…." Not able to control her anger, she just turned around and began to march. "Follow me." She curtly said.

"To where?"

"We're going to the restaurant. It's been a while since you ate, right? Everyone needs good food in their stomach."

Not knowing what else to do, Sasuke obediently followed. Rather shyly, he looked around the village. It looked same, yet different. Sure, all the building and people were same, but the old memories washed into his head like a new wave. He knew he belonged here a long time ago, but did he still belong here?

He wasn't so sure.

Erika pulled him into a new restaurant he hadn't seen before. He could see that it was a sushi bar. It looked elegant with mahogany wood floor and the tables with same kind of wood. The lanterns, which didn't give off too much light, glowed in various places. Sasuke just blinked. He hadn't eaten any decent meals in years. Training with Orochimaru, unfortunately, and constantly being on the run didn't include the best meal plan. The host looked at Erika and Sasuke. He couldn't seem to figure out who Erika was, but he sure did notice Sasuke, to his fear.

"Hey, aren't you Sasuke?" The host greeted happily. Sasuke flinched without knowing. He had no idea how villagers would react, so he was nervous to his very bone. But to hear something so… warm left him speechless.

"I remember hearing about you from the border patrol. It was a good thing that you found your brother. How is he doing?"

"He's doing just great. He was heavily wounded, but now he should be out of hospital any time soon. Could we get a table please?" asked Erika, obviously trying to cut the conversation short.

The host shot a displeased look to her since he wanted to talk to Sasuke a bit more about what had happened. But he was just a host, and they were the guests. If this woman, who looked already pissed off, called the manager or something, he was dead meat. Picking up the menus, the host walked them to the table.

"Uh, more private place, please." Erika handed him couple of bills. Strange, the host thought. It was rare that the guests would reject their table. But he did earn extra tip that hosts never earned. He escorted them to a quarter where two-people table laid. The room was for reservation only, but tonight was an easy night and there was no reservation anyway. The host opened the door happily and asked, "how is this one, Miss?"

Erika gave a smile that sent flutter to the man. "Thank you very much." She sincerely added. Sasuke sneered at the man without even thinking about it.

After the man left and closed the door, they sat down in somewhat awkward silence since the last time they saw each other was… well, when they kind of tried to kill each other—in Sasuke's part at least. But he _had_ to make a comment about how she was acting in front of the host.

"You sure were flirty around that guy."

"That's a girl's way of getting everything." She smiled coyly. Sasuke wasn't easily affected by girls but he was taken aback by the smile. He just turned away to hide his reaction.

The waiter, expecting a lot from the host's comment, came in expectantly. "Good evening. How are you doing?" The waiter was just looking at Erika to Sasuke's annoyance. He didn't like being ignored for any reason. But since the waiter's behavior was obnoxious, he decided that it was better to be ignored. Actually he was enjoying how Erika was being bothered by the waiter's actions.

"I will just get this one." She nonchalantly pointed one of the entrees in the menu. Reluctantly, he turned around to face Sasuke and his entire face expression changed. Sasuke, noticing the change, raised his eyebrow. The waiter couldn't speak for a while as if he had been choked with… tears?!

"Are… are you Uchiha Sasuke?" The waiter cautiously asked.

Sasuke, who was too dazed to think properly, just nodded. From the corner of his eyes, he could see that Erika was trying her best not to laugh. The waiter grabbed Sasuke's hands to his surprise.

"Oh, when I have heard stories about you, I just felt horrible about how much you had to ordeal. But don't worry, now that you found your brother, everything will be just fine."

"Um, excuse me." Erika tapped his shoulder, still holding her laughter. "If you don't mind, could you please bring us the food we ordered?"

"Oh, of course!" The waiter dabbed his eyes with the napkin on his arm. "I will be right back."

As soon as the waiter left, she let out all the laughter that she had been holding while Sasuke groaned in annoyance. After a hearty laughter, she stared at him seriously.

"Well, what do you think? Do you still think that people will smack your head and drag you and your brother out of the village?"

"Why does everyone talk about me anyway?" Sasuke rested his head on his hand in frustration.

"I just planted that fake memory into their head so it's pretty fresh, that's why. Don't worry. After couple of days, it will be fine. But your brother might have to go through the same thing. Just make sure you guys have the story set in your mind and not to say anything stupid." She comfortably leaned against the chair.

Soon the waiter brought the drinks without any words, for which both of them were grateful. Sasuke silently stirred the straw in his glass.

"So… everyone thinks that I just _rescued_ my brother?" Erika nodded while she was sipping her orange juice. Sasuke stared at his glasses incredulously.

"And no one will suspect us?" Again, she happily nodded. "I…." Sasuke began carefully. "I can't believe it was.. that simple."

Erika's face became serious. She put down her glass and stared at him in his eyes . Deep, swirling amber eyes were so mesmerizing that he almost lost himself in them.

"The process might look simple," she stated. "But the opportunity that this will happen is less than one in million. Honestly, what's the chance that your brother will rise from dead and explain the situation, and you will be forgiven for everything you've done _and_ allowed for a new fresh start?"

Sasuke stared at her astonished. So many things were happening that he couldn't put his head straight for the most part, but to hear it like that… He did finally feel lucky that he and his brother were given this opportunity. From his lips left the words that he probably said to no one, but he deemed that she deserved it.

"Thank you." He quietly whispered. Erika raised her eyebrow in surprise. She didn't know Sasuke that well, but she did get a feeling that he was pretty proud and would never bring himself to say those words. But she did like it.

"Now you understand why I was so mad, huh?"

He did. They were given with this incredible chance to start their life anew. No, it was better. The village thought they were heroes in a way. But when it actually happened, all they gave her were suspicion, and distrust. Considering her status, she really lowered herself to involve everyday matters of Uchihas. She indeed deserved gratitude.

"Ah, here comes the food!" She exclaimed happily. Both of them finally enjoyed their food with all of their misunderstanding put aside.

* * *

"So, it seems you've been through a lot lately," said Jiraiya, pouring Sake into Kakashi's glass.

"Haha, I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you were doing." Kakashi accepted the glass and emptied it in one gulf.

It had been a while since Kakashi had Sake and the alcohol was spreading through his system fairly quickly. After a few more exchanges of Sake, Kakashi could feel his head dizzy.

Noticing that Kakashi was giving into the alcohol, Jiraiya asked teasingly. "It sure must be a lot of work to take care of Erika, eh?"

Kakashi groaned sluggishly. "Tell me about it. It's like being a babysitter. But…" His eyes twinkled as if he remembered something. "I do have to say she helps a lot of housework. _That_ really saved my life."

"But still, you seem to care a lot about that girl."

"Well, she was like a lost… hic kitten when I first found her after Orochimaru." Kakashi explained slowly, getting more Sake along the way. "She woulda been a gooooooner if I wasn't there. It's what a teammate would do."

Jiraiya let out an exasperated sigh. "No, Kakashi. Can't you think of something else? Like…. You might consider Erika more than a teammate?"

Kakashi's half-lidded eye met Jiraiya's. His face was full of confusion. "Jiraiya-sama, I know I'm drunk. hicBut I have nnnoooo idea what you're talking about."

"Think about it." Jiraiya patiently urged on. "Don't you think that you feel a bit more caring about her? More than anyone else you can think of? I saw how you were distracted when Erika said she was on a _date_ with Sasuke." He made a mischievous grin, finally remembering the episode.

Kakashi's eyebrows met each other, making a slow frown. "Yeeaaahhhh," he answered. "I do remember hic that. It was just… ssssssssso annoying to hear that word, DATE." He groaned in frustration and drank another cup of Sake.

Jiraiya quickly took the cup away in fear that Kakashi might not be able to steady himself later. "Well, Kakashi. You know what kind of books I write. So I know lots about relationship and such. And _you_ are the biggest loser who can't even figure out his own feelings."

Kakashi snapped his head at what he had just heard. Obviously, Jiraiya's words brought some shock into him and his head was a bit clearer than before. He narrowed his eye and stared at the old man. "What are you suggesting?"

Jiraiya was impressed with how Kakashi snapped out of alcohol so fast. Maybe what he had said was indeed true. "Why don't you think about it? I think you're way so used to the life with her that you can't even figure out what's going on with her. Have you ever imagined life without her?"

Kakashi frowned again and thought deeply (as deeply as a drunken man could). "No, he finally answered.

"Kakashi," Jiraiya put on a serious face. "I knew you from god-knows-when, and I know you've been through a lot when you were a lad. Personally, I think you have something going on with Erika and I'm not the only who thinks that way. I just want you to find happiness in life that you deserve." He smiled like a father. "It's enough already that you're blaming yourself for your past, right? I think Erika can help you with that. To move on, and enjoy life as present, not past."

Kakashi blinked at him slowly. As he was listening to Jiraiya's words, his mind became clearer. And when JIraiya finished his speech, Kakashi couldn't believe how much he was moved by it. Was it because the old man's words were true? Was there really something in him that cared Erika more than anyone else?

For that question, there was no doubt: he did. But he always thought that it was companionship, a normal feeling for teammates. But… what if that wasn't the case like Jiraiya had said? However…

"Jiraiya-sama, you're forgetting one thing. I'm a human, and she's not. In fact, she's a…."

Jiraiya grinned at Kakashi for finally admitting his feelings—partially, at least. "So? She _is_ still a woman, Kakashi. And it's not like she has never loved a man." He winked. "If that man did, why not you?"

Kakashi didn't say anything in response bur merely shook his head. "I don't know. My head hurts pretty badly and I'm sure Sake isn't the only reason."

Catching the sarcasm in Kakashi's farewell, Jiraiya merely smiled. "You're welcome. You know that you already know what you have to do."

Groaning, Kakashi stood up from his chair. His head still felt dizzy from the alcohol and this conversation. "I think I will clear my head for now. Thanks… for talking to me." He murmured quietly, not really sure if he really was grateful for the talk.

"Ah, sure. You can always see my book for reference if you need any help."

Kakashi just shook his head in disbelief and walked out of the building, leaving Jiraiya behind. He sure had a lot of things to think about now.


	36. The Last Piece: I love you

Sorry for late update: getting used to college. And this is really long, mushy romance part. Just to warn you. I probably won't have any chapter like this anymore. I mean, I was awkward writing it hahahaha.

* * *

"Ah, Jiraiya-sama?" Erika was surprised to see Jiraiya sitting alone on the bench He waved at her pleasantly and stared at her rather intensely. She was on her way home after dinner with Sasuke but something about Jiraiya's behavior made her uneasy.

"Uh, is there something wrong?" She tentatively asked. He just shook his head. She took couple steps to sit next to him, trying to lift up the awkward atmosphere. It was obvious that he was in deep thought, but she had no idea about what.

His eyes wandered in the sky until they rested on her again. She stared back at him rather awkwardly. "There _is_ something you want to tell me, huh?"

"Well, you see…." He heavily opened his mouth. "How do you think about Kakashi?"

"EEEEHHH?!" She was utterly surprised at his blunt question. "What do you mean, how do I think about him? He's just a good teammate…"

"Just?" His eyes narrowed. She backed away from his scrutinizing gaze. She couldn't believe that he was giving her that kind of glare. The easy-going, old man was looking at her like an interrogator. She swallowed hard. He wasn't a Sannin for nothing, to give this kind of pressure even to her.

"What kind of answer are you expecting?"

"Well, I don't know. Don't you just think what he's doing might be just a little bit much more than what a teammate would do?"

"….What… What are you suggesting?!" Her face turned slightly pink as she followed where he was heading. But… But it was impossible! Then why was she blushing like this? No. No. No. She told herself.

"You're just trying to make me think like that and it's _not_ going to work." She said defiantly, standing up.

"Oh really? And how do you plan to do that? You can't control how he feels. Or better, how _you_ feel."

A cold chill ran down her spine. Could it be? As she thought about it more, a horrible realization seemed to materialize. Before it could form itself in her mind, she shook her head.

"No. It will just hurt me and him, I know. It's… it's better like this." She resorted out sadly. He could see that she wasn't lying. The pain and regret in her face was so great that he could even feel it by looking at her.

"You don't know until you give it a shot." He stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. But she shook her head.

"You don't understand. It's just…."

"Did this happen before?" Jiraiya's eyes grew in enlightenment. It made perfect sense. How she was determined that it wouldn't work; a decision, no, more like an oath, that she would not love another human being. Could it be that this exact thing happened before and she was afraid of the outcome?

"I… I don't know." Her words were feeble as if she was about to collapse. "I don't remember it ever happening. But something from inside of me is holding me back." She shook her head, her eyes with little tears. "Please don't do this." She begged. "If you tempt me even more, I will lose my control. I don't know why, but my brain is telling me that it's not going to be a good idea—that it will end up hurting not only me, but Kakashi as well."

Jiraiya smiled knowingly and somewhat sadly. So there was something going on between them after all. One was too dumb to realize it, while the other was too afraid to admit it.

"Something from inside of you, eh? Could it be your lost memory?"

Erika thought about the possibility. "But I can't see what kind of memory it would be…." Her face darkened as she finished her sentence. "Anyways, I'm sure it's not going to be a big deal. I mean, I will be gone pretty soon and he would rather want a normal person."

She tried to walk away, but he held his hand firmly on her shoulder. She turned around rather annoyingly. "Didn't I make my stand clear?" Jiraiya almost flinched at the changed atmosphere. No matter how humane she seemed, she was a different being after all. The presence and the authority in her voice turned the table completely. He managed to ask,

"Your lost memory… how long has it been?"

Erika stared at him with _I-can't-believe-you're-asking-me-this_ look. "It's been almost a month and half." She was wondering how he could possibly connect this with what she had just said.

"And basically, the last two decades of your lost memory is the last piece?"

"It seems so." She casually, not even caring what he was trying to do.

"Well, how long has that memory stayed hidden?"

Her eyes became wide with shock. She still had no idea where he was going, but she did realize something unusual. But she had to answer his question first. "Three…. weeks."

"And that's the longest any memory has stayed hidden, correct?" She nodded her head. What he said was true. Her memory had been coming back in blocks of decade, usually two or three at once. At least once a week, she retrieved her memory from the very beginning, filling in the middle. But the last two decades, probably the last piece of her memory, hadn't been returned to her yet. It had been almost three weeks since she retrieved pieces of her memory. She didn't really put a worry into it, believing that it would come back eventually. But she was finally interested in what he was going to say.

"You said something from inside of you was holding you up, making you believe that this wouldn't work out. And incidentally, you have a memory which you can't seem to remember for pretty long time. _That_ piece of memory is the culprit. Whatever happened around two decades ago is locking up your emotion towards Kakashi."

"But…" She said defensively. "How can _I_ hold up my own memory? I want to get it all together!"

"Not quite. I heard this from Tsunade that when one loses their memory, their subconscious could have made a strong determination that they wouldn't want that piece of memory back—that they would _never_ want to remember it." He scratched his head in curiosity. "I wonder what had happened in that memory of yours."

Erika didn't say anything. She couldn't. It was a lost memory after all. She couldn't remember even if she wanted to. She was devastated. Of course, two decades out of thousand years was not big in ratio, but it was _her_ memory, part of her life. Whatever happened, she wanted to know. No matter how painful or disappointing it was, she still wanted to know.

"Do you know any way to make me remember?" Her eyes were set in determination. Jiraiya chuckled in sad reminder. When she was determined, she remarkably resembled Naruto—and… unavoidably his father as well. He was surprised that he could relate Erika to Minato.

"Well, all I know is that you need stronger trigger to remember it since you subconsciously blocked out that memory."

She scratched her head in deep thoughts. "But how do I know what would trigger my memory when I have no idea _what_ that memory is?"

Jiraiya, instead of answer, put his arm around her, surprising her from deep thoughts. "Hey, let's not worry about that right now. I'm sure it will come back someday. How about Sake? Eh?" He held out a bottle joyously.

Erika smiled sheepishly. She normally didn't drink. In fact, she couldn't even remember the last time she drank. Oh well, she was sure that he would give up drinking anyway. In a way, she was younger.

* * *

Jiraiya smiled at the sleeping girl rather evilly. Sake that he had in his sac was no ordinary alcohol. It was concentrated with much more alcohol and normal Sake _and_ it had a small dose of tweaked truth potion. She wouldn't babble at Kakashi about _everything_. How should he say? Her problem was that she was too afraid that she would be more.. honest about how she felt about him. Hopefully, that will teach the guy a lesson when she finally opened up with his help.

"Mmmmm… Jiraiya…sama?" Erika stirred with slow movements. Jiraiya flinched. The potion, after all, was still at trial stage. Of course, it wouldn't kill her or anything, but he couldn't tell if the potion worked or not. But to see that she was asleep was a good sign—after she awakes, she will be different.

"Wha… What is it?" Jiraiya tried to calm himself. He knew the potion had no problem, so he didn't need to fret about small things. It would take awhile before the potion fully kicked in, he thought.

"Where…. Where are you… going to be this time…?" She murmured, almost on the edge of oblivion called sleep.

Jiraiya shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to tell her, especially because she probably wouldn't remember this since she was half-asleep. But he didn't wish to disclose such sensitive matter to her. If she heard what he was really doing, she might snap out of the potion and that was the last thing he wanted. He might not be back this time, even though he assured Tsunade that he would. So before he left probably for the last time, he wanted to make sure that he saw those two happy, especially Kakashi. He watched the copy-nin for many years, and he knew that Kakashi had never really felt happy with companion with another. He knew if he came back here alive, he would be scolded for the rest of his life. But oh well, it was probably worth it.

"I will be going to Ame." He curtly answered and that was all she was going to get.

Slowly, she raised her head. Her eyes were glazed in daze, hair rather messy. She stumbled herself up. Her swept her hair away from her eyes, clearing her view. It looked as if she was fighting hard to clear her mind as well. She frowned and gave Jiraiya an apologetic glance.

"Sorry about this… It looks like… It's been a while since I drank Sake… Hahaha…"

Jiraya also made a nervous and guilty laugh. If Erika knew what he had done to her, she would kill her as soon as the potion's effect was over. At least he would be far away from Konoha by then. She staggered to the closet, almost tripping on the way. She clumsily opened the door. He didn't understand why she was persistently trying to find something. The drug was pretty strong. It was a miracle that she was still awake. But it did seem to be doing its trick. Her movements were becoming slower and clumsier, but she was still awake enough to pursue whatever it was that she wanted. Finally, she pulled out a small box and gave it to him. Then with a thud, her head nearly crashed onto the table while she sat back down.

"What is this?" He asked tentatively, unable to open the box.

"I don't know…" She murmured. "I don't remember the detail, but I.. give that to people who are going far away. I guess it's a good luck charm or something."

"Uhhh… Thanks." He thanked awkwardly and put the box in his sac carefully. He had no idea what it was and why the box didn't open, but he knew she was in no state to answer. She was already into a deep, deep dreamland. He smiled as he walked out of the house. Now, all was needed was Kakashi.

* * *

"Erika?" Kakashi entered the dark house cautiously. It was only eight in the evening, and there was no way that she would be asleep right now. But none of the lights were on and the window was open as well. He quickly backed against the wall and tried to feel the other's presence. Surprisingly, the only one he could feel was Erika's. Rather annoyingly, he flipped the lights on. He wasn't really in good mood after the talk with Jiraiya. He had no idea how he should face her, in fear that he might do something stupid in front of her.

It seemed that the talk with Jiraiya had an unexpected effect. He found her sleeping on table. He couldn't help his heart beating faster when he saw her defenseless like that. It was true that they were very close, but he always had a feeling that she had a fine barrier between them. To see her candid 

moment like this was… somewhat really exciting and enchanting to him. He glanced at the Sake bottle on the table, and recognizing that it was Jiraiya's, he frowned. He had no idea what kind of nonsense Jiraiya could have put in her mind. What if she detests him after what Jiraiya could have told her about him?

Anyways, she looked pretty much passed out from the drinks. He gently sat her up and shook her slightly. "Erika?" He called.

Her eyes fluttered and slowly opened. They were half-open and rather glazy, probably from alcohol. When she saw his face, her face brightened and she smiled sheepishly, sending a jolt down his spine. "Kakashi!" She happily called and clung to his neck.

Surprised by a totally different behavior, Kakashi backed, but she didn't let go. "Where are you going again?" She sulked. "I was waiting for you…" Then she passed out again.

Sighing in relief and still in shock, he picked her up in bridal style since she refused let go of him. He was astonished to find that her arms were still linked together, rather strongly, around his neck even when he put her down on the bed.

"E, Erika…!" He shook her again. Rather annoyingly, she opened her eyes again, frowning. "Whhhhaaaaattt?!" She nearly shouted.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi stammered, not knowing how to react to her strange behavior. _If she only knew how her actions were making me feel_, he dearly wished. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to possess the power of reading mind.

"You're _always _away, even when you're not busy. It's like…." She looked away. "You don't like me and you're trying to avoid me. Do you hate me?"

Kakashi couldn't believe how much effect those amber eyes had on him. He was about to lose control, but he couldn't let it. He finally realized the meaning of the conversation with Jiraiya. He did love her. He just never knew because… probably because he never felt what love was supposed to be like. He had no one who could tell him about it… He had no one to actually feel this attached to…

"No…" He could hardly continue his words. He had to do this before his emotions took control of himself. "I…." He hesitated. Was he ready? No, more like… Was _she _ready? He didn't care. He had to say it now. Or never.

"I love you." He blurted out. His face became instantly red when surprised eyes stared at his face. Without saying anything, she just hugged him tightly rather happily. She seemed to relax a bit and let out a long sigh.

"I… I don't know how long it has been since I heard those words…" She whispered. "In fact… I never thought I would hear those words again…"

The sadness embedded in her words broke the last straw in Kakashi's logic and before he could stop himself, he pulled himself away from her to give her the deepest kiss that he could ever give.

He could feel her flinch and squirm slightly under him, but he pressed on since she didn't seem to object. A moment later, she shyly started responding rather clumsily, probably due to the alcohol.

He finally pulled out when he couldn't hold his breath any longer. He felt dizzy, breathless, but _amazing_. He never knew that he could actually feel this way. Could she be the one?

She gazed at him dazed with pink flush from alcohol and her shallow breath from the deep, long kiss. But she looked happy. Really happy, he was glad to add. She smiled shyly.

"I love you." He whispered and pecked her lips. Now that he knew how he felt about her, and he somewhat knew how she felt about him, he wasn't afraid to say those words. No, it was rather intoxicating to say sweet words.

"I…." She hesitated a bit. _Why?_ She thought. It was obvious how she felt about Kakashi, but somehow she was afraid to admit it. Especially in words. Why did she fear? She had no idea. But she couldn't hold it back anymore. Not when she knew that he felt the same way. She said the fateful words.

"I love you too……"

Things happened fast. She lost her sense of reality to the slideshow of pictures, dialogues, and _memories._ The last piece of memory that was refusing to come back to her. It came to her mind like a panorama, rushing into her brain with too much force that she couldn't even handle it.

And she knew. She finally knew. Why she couldn't love him, no matter how much she did.

She forcefully pushed him away. Kakashi was in utter confusion. She was frozen like she was having a seizure and now she was pushing him away like a criminal. Did she come to her senses after alcohol and hated him for what he had done?

"No.. No, no, no, no, NO…." She rested her head in her hands as if she were going to cry. He wanted to comfort her but he was afraid that _he_ might be the reason for her despair. "I'm sor…"

"NO, this is _not_ your fault." She stammered and slowly stood up. "I should have been more careful. Oh, why did this have to happen? Why…?" She quietly sobbed. "I'm so sorry, Kakashi. I never, ever meant this to happen. I love you so much but…." Tears were streaming from her eyes.

Kakashi didn't know what to say in response. The good thing was that she wasn't mad at him, but the bad thing was that he still had no idea why she was in hysterical. He stood up to get close to her, but before he even realized what happened, her arm darted forward to press the nerve point on his neck. Instantly, he was unconscious.

She gazed at him sadly as she put him down on the bed. "….but I can't…" She finally finished her sentence. She couldn't love him. No, not when she finally realized who she really was. It wasn't fair for him. He would want a better woman than her. He wouldn't want someone who was so tangled in the web of past that she couldn't get out. No, he didn't deserve that despair. She stroke his face gently. This would probably be the last time she would see him. For his sake.

She remembered the last conversation that she had with Jiraiya. Well, the potion was supposed to erase that part but she was somewhat immune to the effect, but not entirely. She remembered that he was heading somewhere for some reason and she needed to know _where_.

And she just exactly knew where she had to go for that.

"Goodbye." She sadly said her farewell. This would be her last farewell.


	37. Red Lotus

The bright moon shone the streets eerily. She glanced at the moon nervously as she didn't have much time until midnight. After the midnight, she will have no chakra for few days because it was the_ week._ She cursed silently. This would surely lengthen her travel time since her only method of transportation would be her feet. Oh well, she couldn't help it. She couldn't _stand_ to be in this accursed place, now that her memory was back. She had to leave here as soon as possible.

How did she end up in this kind of situation? She asked herself thousand times as she passed the streets. But still, she couldn't find answer to that. Instead of confronting about it, she would leave. Hopefully, he would forget everything, although she _knew_ that she wouldn't.

She was a memory keeper after all.

She finally arrived where she wanted to be: Tsunade's house. She knew that Jiraiya would have told Tsunade what he was going to do. She could feel her chakra seeping away, indicating that it was getting very close to midnight. She had to hurry. Fortunately, hypnosis didn't take too much chakra.

She silently entered the house, trying to see if Tsunade was awake. The quiet, even breathing proved her to be correct. She tiptoed to the bed where Tsunade was sleeping and called for her in low, layered voice. "_Wake up."_

Tsunade's eyes fluttered and half opened. Her stare was blank and it looked like she was still asleep even with her eyes open. Rena calmly asked, "_Do you know where Jiraiya headed?"_

"...To Ame... The village hidden in Rain..." Tsunade quietly muttered. Rena raised her eyebrow in wonder. Why would he go to such place?

"He said..." Tsunade slowly answered to the question. "He is investigating… the leader of Akatsuki..."

Akatsuki... That was where Itachi once belonged, Rena thought. But who was the leader? Even she had no idea. It was such a secretive group that she couldn't even get her hands on it. She knew briefly that they were after tailed bijuus, but that was about it.

That train of thoughts painfully made her remember Naruto. He didn't see her many times, but the boy was getting attached to her immensely. He was almost considering her like what he considered Ikaru as; If Ikaru was like a father figure to him, Rena was like his mother. She laughed at the bitter thought. But this had to be done. She had to find Jiraiya and before it was too late, she had to finish one thing--something that she should have done a long time ago.

She could tell that she got all the information that she could from Tsunade. Now, it was time to pay a little visit to the older Uchiha.

* * *

"Rise, Itachi. I know you're awake."

The solemn tone of her voice told Uchiha that she was here for a purpose, not just to say hi. Slowly he rose up, gazing into her deep, dark eyes. He was surprised how much she changed. She seemed to be in 

pain, confusion, but also determination to overcome those obstacles. He bowed his head slightly and asked, "What is it that you desire, milady?"

Itachi's words gave her a queer sensation, reminding her of the encounters with _him_. First, he visited her to ask her to join forces, and then, he took her into his _captive_ when she was Saiyen. How funny, she thought. After all these years, I still couldn't forget about him.

But no more would she falter under the past. She had new important people, new reasons to protect this village, new purpose to stop him. She couldn't dwell in the past forever. She knew. She told herself million times, but somehow, after learning that someone actually loved her for who she was, she finally got the courage to break the tie that tangled her for many years.

"Akatsuki... Tell me everything you know. What they're after, why and _who_ the leader is."

Itachi blankly stared at her in astonishment. He knew someone would ask him about it sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to be this soon—and he didn't expect the interrogator to be her. But somehow, he could tell that she wasn't working for the sake of Hokage or ANBU. This was for her information. Not that it made any difference. He owed his life to her. He owed his honor to her. He owed… his brother to her. He would anything he could do to help her in order to repay the debt.

"Akatsuki... was formed by runaway ninjas like myself. Right now, the leader's main goal is capture all nine bijuus. As far as I know, they have successfully captured all but Kyuubi."

A cold chill ran down Rena's spine. That meant the next target was surely Naruto...

"Why? Who is this madman planning this?"

"He says that he will build a super-weapon that will eventually lead to the self-destruction of human race. If that happens, he intends to rise as a new God."

_A new God…_ That phrase sounded so familiar to her. He said it all the time—that he will rule over the humanity as a new God with fear. The cloud that shrouded the mysterious leader seemed to clear out. Surpassing her fear and the worst scenario bubbling in her head, she calmly asked, "And his name is…?"

"...Pein."

She jumped over his bed to the windowsill as soon as she heard the name. She burst open the window, causing a gush of night wind to come in. Before she headed off, she pointed a finger at Itachi. He felt his throat choking a little bit, but the feeling was soon gone.

"You will be forbidden to mention anything about this encounter. Do you understand?"

Itachi nodded. If that was what she wanted, then he would follow.

The Goddess was gone in the flash.

* * *

Hours later, she stopped in the middle of the wood. This was the border of Konoha. After she stepped out of this boundary, she doubted that she would never come back. Was it worth it? Was it smart of her to visit this place again?

The answer came fairly easy—yes. She got to see Naruto and everyone else, helped protecting village, and found a new courage to finish what should have been a long time ago. He would hate her for a long time, but maybe it was better for the sake of Kakashi. The thought of him made her choke with tears. She knew that if he knew who she really was, then he wouldn't forgive her and himself. This was better for both of them. And Naruto… He would live on. She would do everything in her power to ensure that. Pein will _not_ get his hands on him.

There were many things that she wanted to tell the villagers. How she enjoyed her stay, how she felt alive and accepted, how she would never want to leave…. But what she chose to say was..

"I'm sorry..."

She had the tiniest bit of chakra left—the most amount of chakra that she could store in herself during the _week_. Her forehead showed the sign of red lotus and glowed. One place in the village glowed in red. That would be her last gift, hopefully, sending the message that she didn't leave in hatred.

"My last gift to you..."

* * *

Next morning, Kakashi woke up with splitting headache to find his bed... empty. He scrounged through he memory to remember what happened. He… finally confessed. And he was sure that he heard the same words coming out of her lips. But… She froze as if she was hit by immobilization jutsu, then.. all was blank.

Did she leave him? Then why? Couldn't she stand that she actually came to love a human? Or was it that she couldn't forgive herself for loving _him_? Doubts and confusion started bubbling in his mind. What was he supposed to do now? He opened his heart for someone for the very first time… and he couldn't honestly tell if he was accepted or not. But she was gone and that was what was important.

"Sensei!! Kakashi sensei!!" He heard a breathless voice by his door. He wasn't really in the mood of meeting someone so he decided to ignore the call.

"Sensei! I _know_ you're in there! Please open the door. I think this has to do something with Rena."

In lightening speed, the door was open and Sakura stared at her former sensei in awe. She realized just how much effect Rena had on him. But she could ponder about that later. She grabbed his wrist and tugged.

"I think you should really see this."

Where she led him was the greenhouse. Since he was far from medic-nin, he never visited here before. Why was she dragging him here and what could possibly this have to do with Rena?

She pointed at the pond and his eyes grew wide with shock. In the pond were the most beautiful lotuses that he had ever seen. Sakura was in awe as well. This wasn't her first time seeing them but every time she saw them, she was awestruck.

"These..." She explained. "are the Red Lotuses. They are legendary flowers that are rumored to have the healing power that no herb can perform. It can purify any kind of poison and if people drink the water that boiled one petal, they will regain their health. I didn't even know they really existed until now... But the more important thing is..."

Her next words hit his heart like a hammer. "The Red Lotus is also the flower of Suzaku."

He remembered the Red Lotus mark on her forehead whenever she released her demon chakra. So... this was her doing? For what? Just to leave him like without saying _anything_.. How was he supposed to accept her last gift when he didn't even know how she felt about him?

"Well, there is more... and that's why I called you." She pointed to the biggest lotus in the middle. He cast his glance nonchalantly to where she pointed but his eyes were fixed there. In that lotus was a familiar headband—_his _headband.

"I tried to reach for it, but every time I try, the vines prevent me to do so. I didn't know who would be able to do it, and I thought..." She stopped her sentence. "Sensei?"

Kakashi couldn't even hear what Sakura was saying. Slowly, he reached out his arm. The vines came up to entangle his arm, but it was more like petting and caressing, not restricting any of his movement. He could feel Rena's warm presence in the midst of the lotuses. He finally grabbed the headband in the lotus. It felt warm and panorama of emotions went through him.

He was still confused. He still didn't know why she left, but he could say one thing.

She did love him. And that idiot left because of his sake. He headed out of the greenhouse. Sakura, surprised, called after him. But he didn't care. He had to go see Hokage immediately.

"Do you know where she went?"

Tsunade shook her head. Kakashi already tried to sense her chakra, but it was no use. Even his nin-dogs failed to detect her. She already knew about his dogs, so it was no surprise that she prepared something for that.

"Where could she have…. What are _you_ doing?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

In front of Tsunade were bright bands of ancient language. He realized that it was what Rena called _Formula_. What was Hokage doing, tempering with the delicate jutsu?

"Look at this." She pointed at the three bands. "This one looks familiar to me, since I studied some ancient language. I know this one is the barrier, protecting the village from certain someone."

Kakashi listened to it interested. It was like she was going somewhere.

"Now look at these two bands. She created this one faltering people memory about Itachi and Sasuke. And look at the other one closely."

He did. And he realized something astonishing. "….It looks almost the same!" He exclaimed.

Tsunade nodded. "It could mean that she tempered with people's memory in the past. What I'm trying to do is _what_ she was trying to hide. It will take some days, but I will do anything I can to uncover it."

"But what if it's better to be hidden? She couldn't have altered people's memory for fun. She must have had some reason to do it. Do we have rights to go against that?"

Tsunade thought for a while about his concern. "It might be. But she didn't have any rights to change people's memory either. Whatever it is, it's people's past. You can't just make them forget or have fake memories without people's consent." She quickly added, "except Uchiha's case, of course."

Kakashi nodded. He knew why Tsunade was doing it and he couldn't oppose her reasoning. She was right. Rena had no rights to temper with people's memory… or their heart.

Tsuande already knew about Rena's departure. Actually, when Sakura came to report the Red Lotuses, she realized that it was the Goddess's last gift to the village. But she had never expected to see Kakashi like this after her leaving. She figured out that something finally did happen between those two. Well, it wouldn't hurt to give him some clue about where she might be.

"If I were her..." She stated. "I would have gone to smack Jiraiya's face and..." She stopped. How much information could she give? "He headed to Ame."

Kakashi noticed that she was hiding something. "What's there at Ame?"

Tsunade sighed. He was no child and she couldn't hide this from him if he really was going to go after her. "It seems that Akatsuki leader is residing there. Jiraiya went there to find him."

Kakashi stared at her in shock. "Do you think Rena knows about the leader?"

She merely shrugged. "Well, I don't think Jiraiya would have told her that he was going to get the Akatsuki leader. And since she left, that means she knows where Jiraiya is headed. But I don't think she knows about Akatsuki."

As soon as she finished her sentence, Kakashi burst out of the room, heading to Uchiha.

* * *

First it was Rena and now Kakashi. Itachi calmly gazed at the flustered man. Kakashi evened his breath and asked, "Did you tell Rena anything about Akatsuki?"

Itachi didn't answer. Kakashi glared at the overly-calm face. "I'm asking you, Uchiha Itachi. Have you given her the information about Akatsuki or their leader?"

Again, no answer. Kakashi couldn't help but grabbing Itachi by his collar and yelling at his face. "Tell me, Itachi. Her life is in danger and all you're doing is sit here and stare at me! NOW TELL ME!"

Itachi showed no emotion but was surprised in his mind. Kakashi was a professional shinobi, there was no doubt. To see him getting this flustered and emotional was something that Itachi never expected. He must really cherish that woman, he thought.

"Kakashi." Another voice called and there was Sasuke. "If you calm down and feel closely, you can see that there is a weird concentration on Itachi, which means someone put a jutsu on him. He probably did give her the information, and she probably put a jutsu on him so that he couldn't tell anyone about it."

Kakashi stared at his former student rather dumbly. He released his hands from Itachi and apologized. Itachi didn't seem to mind. Kakashi sluggishly went out of the door.

"What are you planning to do?" Itachi asked.

"I'm going after her."

"Kakashi, she already knows about Pein! And she still went! Don't you think that you should respect her decision?"

"I should..." He sadly pulled out his headband out of his pocket. When she put a jutsu on this headband so that it would teleport to the lotuses, some of her strong emotions came with her chakra. And from that… I know that she's leaving for my sake, because that idiot is too afraid that she might hurt me. I just want to go tell her... That I don't care. I don't care if we are different. I don't care if she thinks she's going to hurt me. I'm ready for it. I just want to tell her that. If she still wishes to leave me after that..." He finished painfully. "Then I should leave her alone as well."

Sasuke was leaning against the wall and then nonchalantly told him, "I'm going with you."

"What?" asked Kakashi, surprised.

"Well, I do owe her my life. My brother paid her back by giving the necessary information to her. I want to go there and be any assistance I can."

Kakashi knew that he couldn't make Sasuke change his mind. Wearily he nodded his head.

"Ah, I think there is one more person who wishes to join." Sasuke smirked, his Sharingans activated.

There came a familiar laugh and a blond haired boy's head poked out. "I guess I'm not really good at hiding."

"Naruto?!" Kakashi was struck. If he couldn't even tell the presence of Naruto, he must have been really emotionally distressed.

"Sensei, let me go too. She always helped me in tough spot and... she kinda feels like my mom to me. I want to help her! And it would be nice to see that Ero-Sannin for a change." He grinned.

Kakashi let out a small, defeated laugh. Oh well, he knew for sure that nothing will change this knuckle-head ninja. He nodded his head. "Fine. We will go as a three-cell team to retrieve Rena and probably Jiraiya-sama. Understood?"

They all nodded and headed toward Ame.


	38. Lost Memory

Rena quickened her pace. Jiraiya was a day's journey ahead of her _and_ he probably used jutsus to expedite his pace. She had no chakra so she had to rely on her muscle strength alone. But she did have the advantage: She didn't need food or sleep to necessarily support her metabolism. Thus, that cut about 10 hours worth of rest, which would be a huge advantage. However, she knew that she would meet Jiraiya until they actually both arrived in Ame. And the confrontation between Jiraiya and Pein was something that she never hoped would happen.

She knew Pein. No, it's more like she knew another part of him under that exterior and it tormented her. She knew that he didn't exist underneath Pein anymore, but she had never been able to bring herself to end the life of the one who she loved.

_No,_ she thought to herself. Pein wasn't him. No matter how much she tried to find him under Pein, she knew he didn't exist. The man she knew wouldn't do something horrible like this. She buried her tormented heart deeply. She knew she had to make the decision and it would hurt her forever. But she had new people to protect, new reasons to protect them. But was she willing to throw away the past for the present? She couldn't decide on that yet….

Although she knew that time would come for her decision, her number one priority was to retrieve Jiraiya before it was too late. Biting her lips, she hurried toward Ame, hoping that she wouldn't have to face the worst.

* * *

Three shinobis met at Konoha's gate rater grimly. Kakashi looked at both of his former students and felt an odd sense of nostalgia. He just realized how much time had passed… and how much they have grown—inside and out. All three of them wore a grievous expression. Kakashi calmly reminded them.

"This is not a regular mission so you're not obliged to follow me."

Sasuke and Naruto merely scoffed at him. "Please. We wouldn't have come all the way here just to hear that." Sasuke remarked sarcastically.

"I…" Naruto started at him awkwardly. "I didn't know you knew Rena that well."

Sasuke was silent at Naruto's question. He knew Naruto wasn't trying to be mean—it was true. He did only meet her yesterday, not counting the encounters in the dungeon. But the dinner and conversation between them made him feel relaxed and welcomed. It was like… having an older sister whom he could rely on for everything.

And knowing that he and his brother owed his life to her, metaphorically and literally, made him impossible to not help her when she might need assistance.

"How.. is your Sharingan?" Kakashi carefully asked. Sasuke flinched and glared at him. He figured that Kakashi already knew what Rena had done to him. Not knowing what to answer, Sasuke just closed his eyes when a fragment of his memory pierced his brain.

"_Your Sharingan will not activate unless you are using that power to protect someone, not to destroy. You might find it hard, but I'm sure you will know when you want to use the power to save someone dear to you."_

Sasuke honestly had no idea. Could he use Sharingan just purely to save someone, not because he wanted to win the battle? He had no answer for that. Therefore, he didn't have his Sharingan. Instead of dwelling in his memory, Sasuke merely answered, "Sharingan isn't the only thing I can offer for help."

Kakashi nodded in response because he knew Sasuke was true. Even without Sharingan, Sasuke was still a formidable shinobi. It was good to have him on the side.

Three of them grimly set out for their journey.

* * *

Tsunade stared out the window, watching three shinobis leaving the village. None of them really reported her about their departure, but she had already guessed about it and she didn't mind. In fact, she secretly hoped that they could be help to Jiraiya that she couldn't be.

Those three… She thought. They all had some connection with Rena and went through drastic change because of her. If she had to send a rescue squad for her, she wouldn't have picked better shinobis.

She turned around to see her own task. The bands of delicate writing flowed in her room. She had tried all of her effort to decipher what the previous formula had been, and what effect it had. She still couldn't decide if it was a smart move to disengage the effect of formula, but she was certain that Rena had no business keeping other people's memories hidden.

She drew in a deep breath. This wasn't an easy task and it wouldn't be until it was over. She had no idea when she would be over but she was having progress. Soon, she would find out her missing past, whatever it was.

* * *

Several days have passed and Rena was definitely getting tired. She had slept as little as possible and rarely eaten anything. She did have stronger physical strength than human, but the fatigue was growing constantly.

The good part was that her chakra was slowly returning, signaling the end of _the week_. She was gaining speed, thankfully, but Ame was just simply too far away. She would have used the Portal if she could, but she knew that Pein had destroyed it a long time ago.

She gritted her teeth and continued on. She had to be there before it was too late. She couldn't involve anyone else in her business, not especially someone she knew and cared about. If something did happen to Jiraiya, she would never forgive herself.

* * *

Jiraiya smiled satisfyingly. He finally managed to get some information on Pein from other shinobis from Ame. He was walking around the rainy street, looking for more information when he got lost.

"Hm.." He murmured. He didn't like the atmosphere of the place. He was pretty sure that no one disclosed on him yet, but he couldn't be too sure either. When he just finished his train of thoughts, he felt someone nearby and quickly scanned the area. It was well concealed, but he could feel the location of the chakra.

As soon as his eyes darted to the location, hundreds of small papers burst out, enwrapping Jiraiya in a dangerously fast rate. Jiraiya quickly escaped the trap with his Toad Silhouette Technique and calmly gazed at the woman with paper wings on her back. Her stance like an angel oddly gave him a reminder of Rena. She attacked without any warning while he was slightly spaced out. The feathers, or paper feathers, became as sharp as razors and rained down on him. He snapped out of his daydream and rolled away to avoid them. Their eyes met for a brief moment and there was a silence.

"Well, I can see you improved your jutsus, Konan." Jiraiya said rather bitterly.

"You have no idea what we went through after you left, _sensei._ Lots of things have happened." Konan answered apathetically.

"You're right. I don't. But to think that my former students are the ones who are involved in destroying the world." His eyes narrowed in anger. "I never remember teaching you that."

Konan didn't even flinch at Jiraiya's anger. She merely closed her eyes, as if she was thinking of the past, and her eyes met his again.

"You don't exist anymore in our memory anymore." The papers slowly began to make a shape of kunai in her hand. "And now, you will be erased from this planet."

* * *

Kakashi continued his path without stopping for a while. The fact is, he already knew that by the time they arrive in Ame, it would be too late. It took days to get to Ame in the first place, and Rena had few days of advantage. Could he really make it before it was too late? Doubts clouded over his clear mind and the more he tried to push it away, the more it bothered in the back of his mind.

"I know a shortcut." Sasuke blurted out, causing all of them to stop.

"What…?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"Around this forest, there are natural Portals. I haven't found one that goes to Ame, but I'm pretty sure it will be nearby here."

Kakashi and Naruto remembered the Portal that Rena created a long time ago. If what Sasuke had said is true, then they could really save precious time. Three met their gazes and nodded.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" They shouted. Each of them created around 20 bunshins, waiting for their instructions.

"Go find any Portals in this forest. If you find anything strange in general, report it immediately." Kakashi ordered to the bunshins. They all nodded and dispersed.

The team also went to search for the Portal, hoping that they could make it in time for assistance.

* * *

Tsunade decided to take a brief break. The Formula was intense, making her battle with various traps and false leads. _Rena must have really not wanted anyone to discover this_, she thought. She wondered what kind of memory Rena wanted to hide so badly and if it had anything to do with her departure.

Kakashi told her what had happened (of course, the censored version) broadly. It seemed as if her last memory had been returned. But as soon as it did, she left the village with guilt and regret. Why? Tsunade already guessed that Kakashi told her about his feeling, judging by his behavior. So the new found relationship between them had to do with her departure. And that linked to the lost piece of memory.

Tsunade groaned and rubbed her temple. The puzzle was almost done, but she knew she was missing vital information. And her intuition told her that the information was hidden in this Formula. She stood up again in front of the band. She was almost done. Just a bit more of work, and they would finally find out something that they all missed. Something that they didn't even _know_ that they lost.

* * *

Jiraiya kneeled down and panted harshly. He was embarrassed to do so, but he had no choice. Konan was stronger than he thought—a lot stronger. And something about this room prevented him to reach his full potential. He gritted his teeth. He was preparing another jutsu when Konana said,

"How many times do you have to try until you realize that fire jutsu won't work against my papers?"

And swiftly, she glided down to him with formidable paper blade in her hand. Without hesitation, she struck down.

While he was trying his best to avoid the attack, something from his vest fell. While his brain was processing everything like a slow motion, he glanced down at it. It was the box that Rena had given to him. He remembered that he could never open it. He bitterly thought that he might never know what was inside. Then, suddenly, the boxed propped open and the object inside took all of his attention, even in this dire situation.

It was the familiar special kunai that his student used to use a long time ago.

He turned his gaze to the blade striking down onto him. Did he have enough time? He really doubted it. Was he going to die like this? Just with this bunch of failures? He never saved his friend. He never protected his sensei or his student. He just idly wasted his time writing his books. Was it all going to end just like that?

No, he couldn't let it. He still had something that he could accomplish. He didn't know what, but he knew in his heart that his destiny wasn't over yet. He tried every fiber of his muscle to avoid the blade, hoping that he would make it.

The blade was going to hit him in 5…. 4….. 3….. 2…..

_CLANG!_

A clear, metallic sound rang through the room. Jiraiya stared at the figure in front of him incredulously. What was going on? He couldn't believe his eyes, but yet he had to.

Rena was standing between them fending off Konan's blade.

"Are you OK, Jiraiya-sama?" Rena asked harshly. She was panting hard, probably from the excess use of chakra for extensive teleportation jutsu. Jiraiya had no idea how she figured out where he was, but he could ask that later. He quickly stood up and returned to his stance.

Rena and Konan pushed off each other, still on guard. Rena glanced at Jiraiya. He was wounded pretty badly and he seemed to have lost too much blood. She glared at Konana. She wouldn't forgive those who hurt people she cared about.

She already knew that Konan was close to Pein. She always felt the presence of her chakra whenever Pein was near her. And she knew that Pein was watching, probably already expecting her. If he's watching, then she will put up a hell of a show.

"I've heard about you." Konan calmly remarked. "A Goddess who can never see the world straight and opposes to Pein. You shouldn't be so naïve. Humans will never learn their lessons. The history has proved it."

Rena didn't say anything, but she knew Konan wasn't true. True, Rena once believed the same thing that Konan had said. But she met _him_ who changed her perspective of the world completely. Followed by him, she met various people like Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke… and Kakashi. And she believed in all of them. She believed that they could change the world. And she would do everything she can to eliminate the most formidable obstacle for them.

Rena didn't want to make this long. She was already pissed at Jiraiya for going off to such dangerous place alone, and she had to tend his wounds before he lost more blood and possibly pass out. Her eyes turned into demonic form just like Kyuubi's. The sign of red lotus appeared on her forehead and the red wings sprouted from her back.

"You have already caused too much pain" Rena bellowed. "to those I know and I might not know so well. However, I will not let you continue your rampage any longer!"

Konan took a small step back from Rena's threat. She was different from Jiraiya. Her words drilled into Konan's mind like a hammer. Konan knew that Rena wasn't threatening idly.

Rena made a smirk that sent chills to Konan's spine. "You did put up a little trick here, didn't you? No wonder Jiraiya-sama couldn't fight that well. If it was a normal circumstance, he would have won a long time ago. Using cheap tricks like that…."

Suddenly, a jutsu appeared in red on the wall. Jiraiya recognized it immediately. That seal was used when one wanted to oppress the enemy's chakra. No wonder he couldn't control his chakra that well. Without even making seals, Rena made the jutsu disappear with her sheer chakra.

"Now, you will burn in Hell," said Rena eerily. Konan, in her panic, drew out thousands of paper blade and showered it to Rena. Looking at the small flame in her hand, Jiraiya shouted, "Wait! Fire jutsus don't work against…!

His worries were proved false as flames engulfed not only the papers, but the entire room. Jiraiya looked at the fire in wonder. He knew it wasn't a normal flame. It had all kinds of spectrum of colors: red to blue to yellow. It burned everything in crisp and it was heading directly toward to Konan.

Konan couldn't what was happening. Pein had told her that no fire would be able to extinguish her papers and it had been true… so far. She nervously glanced around the room, waiting for Pein's help. But the unseen spectator did nothing to intervene her inevitable doom.

"Pein-sama!" Konan cried out as the flames engulfed her. As she was being engrossed in flame, she drew out one blade and shot at Rena's heart, while she was looking back at Jiraiya for his condition.

While Jiraiya watched Konan disappear in flame, he saw the blade shooting at her. "LOOK OUT!" He yelled. Rena turned around and swiftly dodged the blade which missed her heart.

Well, the blade did accomplish something though.

* * *

Tsunade looked at the Formula incredulously. She was finally done. After battle that lasted several days, she finally decoded the Formula. With one more seal, she would be able to undo Rena's formula and find whatever the segment of memory that they have lost.

With trembling hand, Tsunade made a final seal.

A flush of memory flooded into her head. Some she remembered vaguely, but others she didn't. She finally figured out why she couldn't remember that particular person that well, and why the entire village couldn't either.

And she finally understood the inner torment that Rena was going through. And why she had left the village. She muttered out the name that she never thought she would say again.

"……"

* * *

Jiraiya stared at Rena in disbelief as she slowly stood up. How could he have not noticed this before? He had to admit that he hadn't seen her in _ages_, so he didn't know her face exactly. But now to see her like this… he finally recognized her.

The pool of red hair lied on the ground and Rena touched her rather short hair. She casually glanced at open-mouthed Jiraiya. She still had no idea why he was so surprised and when she did, she couldn't hide her shock he noticed.

Jiraiya had tons of questions for her, now. TONS. But the first thing he did but blurt out the old name that Rena never wanted to hear again.

"UZUMAKI KUSHINA?!"

* * *

**NOTE: I know Kushina's supposed to have long hair, but my interpretation was that she had short hair. I already set up this before Kushina's appearance was revealed and I couldn't really change it at the last minute. **


	39. To Proect the precious

Rena froze as the words struck her ears. Both of them couldn't say a word and a deafening silence took place. Jiraiya swallowed hard. He didn't even know that he would remember that name. In fact, he didn't even know how that name came into his head in the first place. She numbly murmured,

"You…. You're not supposed to know that name… How do you know?!"

"What do you mean, I'm not supposed to know?" Jiraiya asked sharply. He knew something was going on, and he was demanding an answer. Rena knew from his glare that she needed to explain what had happened. Jiraiya was mad for many people's sakes and she had to explain herself. Fast.

Hurriedly, she held his wrist and before he could see what was going on, pair of red wings enclosed around them. He glanced at Rena rather wearily.

"Trust me. It's better if he doesn't hear."

He knew who she was talking about and after a short pause, they were gone.

* * *

"Where are we?" He asked, looking around his suddenly changed surrounding. Soon, he figured out. It was the hill in Konoha. Minato used to like seeing the sunset and the village here. With her, in fact. He smiled bitterly at the thought. What a sick irony that she took him here out of all the places.

"This is not the real place. It's more like… materialization of my memory." Rena quietly said.

"So, what's going on? No, what_ has_ been going on? How come I was the only one who could remember you in Konoha, as vaguely as it was? And where have you been for all these years?!"

Rena held out her hand to silence him. Her face was filled with pain and confusion. She sighed deeply and shook her head in disbelief.

"I knew I shouldn't have come to Konoha in first place. I was afraid that this might happen."

"What do you mean?"

"_You_ were the only one who knew me as Uzumaki Kushina _and_ didn't live in Konoha. If you did, you would have forgotten about her as well."

"What?" Jiraiya asked dumbfounded. Did she mean to say that she erased everyone's memory? For what? What was the reason that she abandoned both of his students? Especially Naruto? He was her child! How could she leave him behind like that? And how was she going to pay for all the pain that he went through?

Rena could see that Jiraiya was getting consumed by rage and she didn't blame him. As much as she convinced herself that it was the best solution, the decision that she had made sixteen years ago tormented her everyday.

"Why did you leave them? And why did you come back?" Jiraiya demanded, silently fuming.

Rena couldn't meet his eyes. She knew that he felt betrayed—for Minato's life and Naruto's as well. She wished that he could understand. She hoped that he could understand the torment that it gave her ever since.

"You were in the village when Kyuubi attacked! You could have helped him. You could have done _something_ to prevent his death." Jiraiya pleaded, almost wanting her to tell him why she couldn't help Minato. As much as Jiraiya hated what Rena had done, he still wanted to believe in her. That there was a reason why thing had to be like this.

"When Kyuubi attacked…." She heavily opened her mouth. "it was during _the week_, so I couldn't help him in any way." She bitterly thought of that fateful day.. How she felt so helpless and frustrated by the situation. "Minato made his decision to seal the Kyuubi in his body, but I stopped him from doing so."

Jiraiya wanted to bombard her with questions, but he patiently listened to her story.

"The reason was that… Kyuubi was such a strong demon that he couldn't seal it in his body even with his life. If he did, what would have happened was that Kyuubi would gain control of his corpse and he will be a merciless killing machine. I couldn't afford or see that happen. No, Minato couldn't get rid of Kyuubi like that. Kyuubi needed a living host—someone who can handle the power of the demon and keep in check." Rena took a shaky breath while she trembled. It had been years since it happened, but she felt as if it had happened only yesterday.

"So, we chose Naruto as a host, because we couldn't think of anyone else. And…." She bitterly continued, "since Naruto is half-demon by blood, he was the only one who had the potential of controlling Kyuubi."

"Then why did you leave him? Do you know how much…?" Jiraiya stopped when he saw her expression. Yes, she knew. She knew what kind of disaster she was putting her child through with her decision and she was regretting it. She was trying her hardest to keep tears flowing.

"In Minato's last moment…" Jiraiya flinched; no one was supposedly with him when he died, so his last moment was always a mystery. "He said he wanted Naruto to be regarded as a hero and… wanted him to be safe from outside enemies. We both knew that he would be a target by many shinobis who wanted the power of Kyuubi. We couldn't afford to add more danger in Naruto's life by revealing that he was Yondaime's child. That's why… That's why I decided to leave the village. I had to make sure that no one in the village knew that Naruto was Minato's child. And my existence in the village had to be erased."

She shook her head harshly. "I know, I know. It might have been a bad decision and it looks like I abandoned Naruto. But we really cared about his safety and future. How much danger do you think Naruto will be exposed if shinobis knew that Naruto was not only jinchuuriki but also a son of Hokage?"

Jiraiya still couldn't believe the outrageous deeds done by two, but he had to agree that their concern was true. Naruto was already in the life of prey as a jinchuuriki. If shinobis knew that he held more value to the village as a son of deceased Hokage, who knows what would have happened to him?

"After Minato finished the seal, I went to Sarutobi. I told him what had happened and asked him to take Minato's place and take care of Naruto. He was the only one who knew everything about me, Minato and Naruto. And we decided that it's better for the villagers to forgot that I lived in Konoha, however short it was."

Jiraiya remembered how no one knew who Naruto's parents were, if they cared enough to even question about it. He always wondered why, and her explanation finally made sense.

"So you set up a formula." Jiraiya suggested and Rena nodded.

"The formula is supposed to affect anyone who live in the village for a period of time. Tsunade is a good example." She explained. "Tsunade must have remembered me pretty clearly when she first came here since she didn't live here when I first set up the formula. But as she spent more time in this village, the formula gradually started working, making her slowly forget about me."

Jiraiya nodded. He heard about the story when Tsunade tried to investigate about Uzumaki Kushina. She was surprised how no one could remember her. And wasn't it few weeks ago when she admitted that she couldn't remember Kushina that well?

"It's unfortunate that you never spent much time in Konoha." She brushed her now short hair. "The secret could have stayed hidden until the end."

"You were planning to never tell Naruto?"

Rena looked at him with confusion and hesitated. "I… I don't know. I always thought that it would be better if I didn't exist in his life at all. But… I couldn't help it." Tears finally began to flow freely on her cheek. "I was so sorry for all that had happened to him. I wanted to tell him that I loved him and I still do. I wanted to tell him that I was never ashamed of what he was and would have stayed with him if I could."

Jiraiya couldn't say anything to her in shock and deep sympathy. He could see the amount of pain that was burdening her on her shoulders. All the apologies and the words she must have wanted to tell Naruto would have tortured her immensely.

He sighed. As messed as this situation has been, he knew that Rena would have never abandoned Minato or Naruto in the flick of an eyelash. But he still couldn't believe that no one, including himself, could remember this important part of their life. He remembered the time when Minato and Kushina decided to name their child Naruto after reading their book. He was deep in reminiscence when he realized that he was the one who named Naruto. He was Naruto's godfather, so to speak.

"Jiraiya-sama," He snapped out of his daydream when he heard the determined tone of her voice. "You have to leave here, now."

He was puzzled at her anxiety and worry, but he soon realized why. In the clear blue sky, he could see a crack. With horrible ripping sound, the crack became bigger and bigger, revealing a deathly silent black hole. Rena's eyes grew large with horror and quickly made a seal. He realized that it was a barrier seal, but he was surprised to learn that it wasn't for their dream-world—it was for him.

"What?!" Jiraiya was surprised to find the barriers around him. He held out his hand to feel it sturdy and cold. Rena was breathing heavily from anticipation.

"Pein already found out about this place and there is no stopping him from destroying this place. No, I can't run away forever. I might not have been able to protect Minato, but I will not let Pein take away Naruto."

A gust blew from the hole that was getting bigger. Jiraiya realized that the boundary between this world and the real world was breaking. And soon, the entire hill was engulfed in black and slowly he could see the surroundings. To his astonishment, they weren't in the building that they had their last battle. They were outside. In front, there was a big lake and a tall building. There, he could see a figure with red hair and familiar Akatsuki robe. Jiraiya instantly knew that he was Pein. The master behind the dangerous rogue ninjas to collect bijuus.

"So you used your precious chakra to protect that measle human."

Pein was far away but both of them could hear him as if he was talking right next to them. Rena's eyes narrowed in disgust.

"Don't judge value of their lives. All of them are importantly equally, God or human."

Before Jiraiya even realized, Pein was directly behind her, whispering in her ears. "Just when will you change your mind?"

Rena moved her eyes toward Pein without turning her head and their eyes met. When they did, she answered, "Never."

And their battle began.

It was so fast that Jiraiya had hard time following them. Pein contolled the water in the lake to use it as blade while Rena used her fire to evaporate them. While the steam thickened, she threw her special kunai—_Minato's _special kunai—to direct herself to Pein. Jiraiya was instantly hit by an old memory when Minato mastered that jutsu and how he became the strongest shinobi with that deadly jutsu. He wondered if it was Rena who taught him.

Rena teleported in front of Pein, grabbed the kunai in midair and flung her arm toward him when by mysterious force, she was flung backward. The push was with such force that she cracked the wall behind her back and she couldn't help coughing out some blood.

Jiraiya didn't know what was going on, but Rena did. She knew Shounu's special power. As God of Thunder, he could control electricity at his will without any trouble. He mastered it to a point where he could control the electromagnet field in earth—which meant, he had some control of gravity and other forces.

Well, he wasn't the only one with tricks. Rena snapped her fingers and the electric charges in the air charged up with her fire and exploded around Pein. If he could control water and thunder at his will, she could control fire completely and air by extremely efficient degree. She was Goddess of Fire, not air, so she actually had to use more chakra to control it finely, but she really didn't mind. In this battle, both of them had to go all out, or they would die.

As their battle ensued, they both knew that they would have to finish this battle fast. They were equally matched, no doubt about it. Therefore, before they exhausted their energy, they had to come up with something fast.

Pein made a small smile. He wasn't planning to use this until he got Kyuubi, but it was good enough. It would be good enough to kill her outright.

He snapped his finger to increase the gravity in the area where Rena was standing. No matter how much she tried, she could not lift a finger. She raised her head in difficulty to meet Pein's eyes which were flashing with victory.

"Do you know why I had been collecting bijuus?" He asked. "Why would I go bother sending my best shinobis, sacrificing their lives, for those creatures? Well, I will show you why."

He clapped his hands together and as he gradually drew them apart, something began to appear between his hands. Not only Rena, but Jiraiya also, couldn't believe the sheer malice and chakra that the menacing sword was holding. The sword that came out of Pein's sword was long with black menacing blade. It had so much chakra with killing intent that they could literally see the black chakra enveloping the sword.

As menacing as the chakra might be, she could recognize the molding chakra. After all, they were from her. Pein caught the glimpse of her understanding.

"Today, I will defy God's glory—immortality. With this sword forged by eight bijuu's powers and my chakra, it will be more than enough to end any life, even Goddess's." He pointed the sword to her. "With you gone, the humanity will be mine."

When he struck down the sword, many things happened. Rena used her last power to break her last seal. Two dark red wings sprouted from her back, her eyes turned those like Kyuubi's, she had fangs with longer fingernails and her entire attire changed into some kind of battle suit.

Jiraiya's eyes widened. This was not Suzaku that he had seen before. Suzaku he knew always protected the precious, but she was also greatly afflicted by other's lives. But this Suzaku… In order to protect her important beings, she was ready to destroy whatever was in her way. What could have made that difference?

Noting her considerably darker hair and wings, Pein realized that Suzaku and Saiyen has finally merged as one. He was somewhat surprised but excited at the same time. He knew that now Suzaku had the hear t to kill him, if necessary. With both Suzaku and Saiyen gone, then here will be no one who can stop him.

But also, other things happened that none of them expected. A lightening in the form of dog appeared out of nowhere and attacked Pein. Because he was fully consumed by Rena's transformation, he couldn't dodge the attack. Of course, he dispatched the electric easily, but he still received the severe damage. Pein was confused for a moment. Lightening was definitely not Suzaku's element. He knew that her main element was fire and she learned to use wind element. Then who could it be….?

Rena, who was as confused as Pein, turned her head toward where the lightening has come from. And there was a special surprise for all of them.

"….KAKASHI?!"


	40. The Last Moments

"Kakashi?!" All three of them looked at the new group: Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke. She was utterly surprise that they actually managed to get here, on time, especially. But as happy as she was to see them, she couldn't afford them to be in danger. She immediately headed for them to get them to safety when she was blocked by water dragon. She sent a menacing glance at Pein.

"Where do you think you're going, milady?" Pein asked coldly. "I don't think you have time to rescue those meddling pests." The dragon charged at her.

As she dodged the attack, she realized a bit too late that the dragon was also enveloped with lightening. _Of course¸_ she thought. _Lightening is Shounu's element._ As she remembered this, the ray of lightening caught her right arm and the electricity went through her entire body, temporarily paralyzing her.

"UGH!" She flinched and backed away. She could feel her hand twitching in the reaction from the lightening. This wasn't good. She had no idea when her body would be free. The lightening that Pein used was in entirely different level than average shinobis. Therefore, the effect was much greater, even for her.

"Rena!" Naruto immediately made multiple kage bunshins to help the fight. Pein, slightly annoyed, sent numerous rays of lightening to attack the bunshins. Sasuke and Kakashi used their own chidoris to deflect those attacks, but Pein's attacks seem to be too great to deflect with their chakra.

After effectively defecting Naruto's kage bunshins and Kakashi's and Sasuke's chidoris, he sent the water dragon straight to them when it was blocked by the great fire wall.

Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto watched the fire wall in awe. They could tell that it wasn't a normal fire. The beautiful rays of all spectrums of colors danced in front of their eyes while it protected them against the malicious dragon. Pein sent an annoying look to Rena.

"I thought you said this was between _us_." Rena gritted her teeth. As a Goddess of Fire, she didn't need specific seals to control fire. But having one of her hands disabled was a huge disadvantage. Pein made a small smirk and charged at her with his enormous sword.

Rena quickly grabbed her black jeweled necklace and it immediately turned into a sword to block Pein's attack. Rena alsmot flinched back with the sheer shock from the immense chakra of the sword. Rena gritted her teeth and held on.

"Isn't it painful?" Pein smirked. "And yet, you choose to go this way. If you joined me in the first place, you would never have to suffer this."

"Shut… UP!" Rena violently pushed him back with all her might. She was not comfortable using the sword with her left hand, but it could be managed. She should be able to buy enough time before her right hand un-paralyzed.

Pein easily created the water dragons to attack them when she counterattacked with firebirds. The more dragons she saw, she became more disgusted. Probably because she knew exactly where that power came from. The power that didn't belong to Pein. The power that belonged to….

"That necklace…." Pein opened his mouth. "It originally belonged to Saiyen. It can turn into any kind of weapon that you choose, hm? Maybe I could keep it as a trophy once I defeat you."

Rena frowned as she knew that he was definitely mocking her. He knew she could be easily angered from the past and probably hoped that she would lose her cool. But centuries of time made her learn a lot of things. And never losing one's cool was one of them.

While Pein was paying attention to Rena, Kakashi was secretly but very quickly making the seals to immobilize Pein. However, Pein noticed it before he finished it and snapped his fingers.

All of their hands and feet were immediately surrounded by ice. They tried to move their body but it was almost impossible. Now, they were helpless victims who were just waiting for their possible demise.

Rena gave him a warning look, but Pein didn't seem to care about them much. "You would have shoved them into that barrier anyway. I just did the job for you. At least, they won't be bothering us anymore."

As their fight ensued, Kakashi gave Naruto a knowing look. He nodded and glanced at the wood, waiting for the _surprise._

"What….?" Pein turned around as he felt an enormous chakra approaching him. As he did, he saw a surprising figure: Naruto. Pein's eye glazed over to Naruto who was immobilized with ice. Meeting his gaze, Naruto smiled and he was gone.

_Kage bunshin!!!_ A thought crossed his mind. So they knew that there was a chance that they would be defeated, so Naruto already sent out a kage bunshin to the battle field, waiting for his chance.

Naruto knew that he hit the bull's eye. There was no way that Pein could dodge the attack. He had no idea what would happen to him afterward, but as long as he defeated Pein, it would be fine. The sphere in his hand grew bigger in response to his surging chakra.

Pein made a desperate attempt to swing the sword at him. He knew it would be too late. But something unexpected happened. The sword resonated with Naruto as it got closer to him. Pein, Naruto and Rena could feel it—especially Naruto. He felt as if an iron hand gripped his heart and he could not continue his jutsu. No, he couldn't move his body at all.

Pein finally realized what was happening. The bijuus in the sword was resonating with Kyuubi in Naruto's body. Pein made a triumphant smile. Naruto's surprise actually turned out to be a good surprise to him. If he killed Naruto right now, his bijuu would be absorbed into the sword and Pein would be unstoppable. With menacing glee, Pein struck down his sword to the teen.

"NARUTO!" Rena surged all of her chakra to get to him. Everything was happening so fast that she had no idea if she would be able to block him. No, blocking Pein wasn't in her mind. As long as she could protect Naruto….

The horrible silence enveloped the scene. Naruto, who was briefly unconscious, found himself enveloped in strong arms. When he finally could see clearly, he saw Rena's face. …..Lifeless Rena's face. Her eyes lost its focus and stared at the space blankly. Over her shoulder, Naruto saw Pein holding the sword—the bloody sword. He was hit with horrible realization it was Rena's blood. She protected him against that ghastly sword. She was struck with a deadly blow on her back and she seemed to be unconscious. Naruto was terrified with the fact that he messed up again. After all the training that he went through got him nowhere. He was still helpless and Rena sacrificed her life to save him.

At the moment of strike, Rena realized that it really was no ordinary sword. The evil chakra that was molded in the sword was too much for her to handle. If it was a normal sword, it would do no harm to her. But she could feel that the blow was fatal and she lost consciousness almost immediately.

Slowly, he could feel Rena's weight on him as she slowly lost her chakra. He didn't have enough strength or willpower to make them stay in midair. Slowly gaining speed, both of them plunged into the water.

"Naruto!!" Kakashi shouted, but Naruto seemed to be in too much shock to gather his thoughts. When they hit the cold water, Naruto snapped out of his shock. He definitely had felt Rena's breaths before they fell. She was in critical condition, but she wasn't definitely dead. He gathered up his chakra so that he could set Rena safely on the surface of the water. When he did, he noticed that there were red lotuses around them, seemingly protecting them.

"Hahahahaha. This is the end of you, Suzaku." Pein declared. "See, you will lose your life for nothing. The world will come to an end as it is, no matter what you do to prevent it. Face it, it's destiny that can't be changed."

He glided down to blow a final strike when he was bounced back by a… barrier?

Pein looked at the pair in disbelief. Suzaku was effectively disabled. So there shouldn't be her chakra that should react to protect them. Unless, there was someone who shared her blood….

Then the understanding came to Pein's mind. Unusual attention that Suzaku had been giving to that boy, the mysteriously familiar chakra that the boy seemed to have with her, and the ultimate proof that her chakra was reacting to him.

He also realized that no one knew about this truth—the ultimate truth that Sazaku never wanted anyone to know. _So,_ Pein thought. _I will give you a final torture._ _I will reveal what you wanted to take to the grave._

"Let me tell you an old story." Pein started with mocking voice. Jiraiya, who was in the barrier this entire time, realized what Pein was about to do. He desperately wanted to stop it, but he couldn't do anything to prevent it.

"There was a silly goddess who fell in love with the human. The other man, who was also madly in love with her, got so jealous of her happiness with another man that he decided to break it. He sent a monster to the village that they lived together. The husband died in vain and the goddess sealed the demon in her child, hoping that it would end the tragedy. The goddess left the village and the child forever in shame and never returned. Or she thought she never would." Pein finished his mocking story and gave them a knowing smile.

Jiraiya was horror-stricken. What had happened was true, but he knew that Rena never left in shame. He saw her break down, her tears and agony. Pein was twisting the story to such extent!! To hear such stories like that….

Kakashi's memory surged back when he heard the story. He was out of the village when Tsunade finally unsealed the formula so his memory wasn't back yet. But all he needed was a trigger and Pein provided it. The disbelief clouded his face and mind.

"Uzumaki Kushina…." Kakashi murmured. Sasuke heard it, and gave him an incredulous look. 

"Uzumaki? I didn't know there was anyone with that last name except Naruto."

"That name… is the one that Rena used when she was there 16 years ago…." The realization finally made sense in Kakashi. He sometimes had a vision of his sensei and someone else next to him. Whenever he did, Rena would give him a sad look and ask '_It's coming back, isn't it?'_

Now he finally realized what it was. The memory of Uzumaki Kushina… He couldn't believe that he actually never remembered her. That meant… She was his sensei's lover… wife and Naruto's mother….

Kakashi fully understood now why Rena had left him when her final memory came back. Her last piece of memory was the time that she spent with Minato in Konoha. When she realized her relationship between her and Kakashi 16 years ago, she couldn't possibly bring herself to love him. That was why she left him without any explanation, because she couldn't afford to reveal the secret. Kakashi secretly blamed his stupidity. The conflict and pain that she must have gone through inside… All by herself…

Naruto blankly stared at Pein, open mouthed. "That story…. That story sounds like…."

"What happened 16 years ago? When you were born?" Pein jeeringly finished the story for him. "Well, of course, because it _is_ about you."

Naruto's world shattered around her. He could hear Pein's jeering laugh, but he blocked out all the other sounds. He looked at lifeless Rena in horror. So she was… she was his mother? The one whom he had wanted to see and meet so badly was lying on the water close to the brink of the death. No, that couldn't be true. It just couldn't be. There had to be an explanation to why she left the village. Did she really leave in hatred? Then what about now? She had been so nice to him ever since she saw him. Was it because of the guilt that she abandoned him?

"Naruto!" His head jerked when he heard the familiar voice. He raised his head to Jiraiya. The older man could see the confusion and sadness within the teen's eyes. Jiraiya really hoped his defense would get through Naruto.

"What he's saying is _not_ true!" He continued. "You… You should have seen her when she was telling me the story…" Jiraiya could feel his own throat choking from remembering the scene. The guilt and burden that she was expressing, and he was sure that she was trying her best to hide it. Naruto had to know this. He couldn't go on believing that his mother hated him.

"Just think about it," He calmed himself. "Would she really visit Konoha again in the danger of exposing herself and sacrifice herself so many times…. If she didn't love you?"

Naruto didn't answer in response but looked at Rena instead. Her eyes were already closed as if she was in peaceful sleep. Tentatively, Naruto reached out his hand and lightly touched her face. The moment his finger touched her chin, he saw a vision. It was Kyuubi inside of him—he was waking up.

"_Her blood has been shed…. I can feel her presence fading…._

_But I can feel something else… I'm part of her and so are you…._

_Can you feel it? The one who shares her blood…._

_Can you see her memory, her emotions…._

_And her love….?"_

Naruto could see and feel the influx of memories. The happy moments that she spent… with his father? But that man was…. His eyes widened in understanding and surprise. So that was his father. The man whom he looked up to. The man who saved the village and… him as well.

The fourth Hokage….

He saw how happy they were when he was born. He saw Jiraiya, his parents, many people from the village who were… actually happy for his birth. Everyone was happy to see him, not treating him like a monster. He watched in awe as the memories swept by.

And then the fateful day of Kyuubi's invasion…. And Kyuubi's voice came in.

"_Madara was a former lover of Suzaku. She blessed him with the special power of Sharingan and that was her fatal mistake. Succumbed by greed, he could not handle the enormous power that Sharingan provided him. She left him short while later and placed a limitation on Sharingan, making the user slowly blind as he used more power. Madara searched endlessly for her whereabouts when he finally did while she was in Konoha. Enraptured in madness and jealousy, he called upon me and controlled me with genjutsu to attack the village."_

Naruto saw the horrible image of Kyuubi destroying the village. Numerous shinobis were dead and there were more fighting against the bijuu. He could see Rena, or more likely Kushina, in the wood. She was looking at the moon frustratingly. She tried making seals but to no avail. Naruto finally realized what was going on. It was her _week_. He briefly heard Rena and Kakashi talking about it. According to her, she lost all of her chakra for briefly a week every month. And suggested by her gesture, it was evident that she couldn't do anything to help.

Then her head turned to his father who was standing on Gamabunta. Recognizing the seal, her face turned pale and she dashed to him. However, she was too late and the jutsu activated. The death god appeared behind Hokage when Rena grabbed his hands.

"No! Why did you do this? If I had my chakra, I can easily win against Kyuubi! You… You didn't have to do this… No… I don't want to lose you!" Naruto could see Rena trembling and she was trying her best to not show tears.

Hokage looked at her gently. "Kushina, your chakra is not going to be back for few days. By then, the entire village would be annihilated. No, this is the only way. As Hokage, I have to protect the village. Because I love this village and you and Naruto… I want to secure the future for both of you."

Hokage's eyes narrowed as his Death God struggled to bring Kyuubi into his body. He could feel his chakra draining at dangerously rapid rate. He didn't know if he could safely seal the bijuu. He gritted his teeth. If he failed and he was gone, who could protect the village. No, he couldn't afford that to happen. Rena, who was silent for a moment, was hit with understanding.

"No… This isn't going to work…" He gave her a surprising look. "Kyuubi is probably the strongest bijuu out of all. If you seal it in your body…. Your dead body won't be enough to contain all the chakra. In result… Your corpse will be controlled by Kyuubi. You will be a lifeless, merciless, killing machine."

His eyes flashed surprise and fear at the same time. Once the jutsu activated, there was no turning back. "Then what… what are we supposed to do?"

Her face was determined and she ran to her house and fetched Naruto. "_He_ is our only hope."

He looked at her in disbelief. "You want me to put Kyuubi in _him_?"

Rena looked at him sadly. "He does have demon blood in him. And he is a strong boy, just like you. He will be able to handle it."

His face flashed a moment of hesitation, but he trusted her judgment more than anything. His determined eyes met hers. "I… I just hope that the village can look at our child as a hero who saved the village. Will you promise me that you will watch over the village and Naruto after me?"

"Always." She fervently promised. "For you and Naruto, I will do anything."

He smiled faintly. The time was coming nearer to end. He could feel his chakra slipping away. If he didn't hurry up, his jutsu would fail. He put a hand on Naruto's belly and the seal appeared. "Be a strong man, Naruto. I will always watch over you." His eyes turned to Rena who was already crying. "Please don't cry. I don't want our last moment to be sad."

Rena nodded and wiped her tears. "The time I spent with you was my happiest moment." She whispered.

"I would say the same." He answered with a smile. She forced a smile as well. She gently grabbed his shoulder and gave him a final farewell kiss.

"Goodbye…" He whispered. Then he looked at Naruto for the final time and murmured, "Seal complete."

The seal appeared again on Naruto's belly and Kyuubi screeched. Kyuubi's hateful eyes met with Rena's, of which were burning with sadness and rage. After the seal was complete, she gently held him and Naruto.

"Your sacrifice will not go in vain. I will do anything to protect the village which you and I love so much. And I will always watch over Naruto… Because he's our child and we love him dearly…."

Then the entire scene became black and Naruto was standing in the empty space. The tears were freely flowing down his cheeks and he was lost in flood of emotions that he couldn't even digest…


	41. Beloved

The last chapter before Epilogue!! WOOT!!!

* * *

While Naruto was lost in his own sea of emotions, Kyuubi appeared and eyed him carefully.

"_So you're just like me. You're also part of Suzaku like I am."_

Naruto stared back at the fox blankly. Right now, he didn't really care. He didn't care if the world came to an end. He just wanted to forget everything. Ironically, this was the information that he had been dying to know, but now that he actually did, he really wished that he didn't have to.

"_Listen up, boy. You can't mop around about this forever. She is dying."_

"What?" He asked blankly.

"_I said _your mother _is dying!"_

Naruto finally snapped back to his senses. Kyuubi continued frustrated, _"I'm not one of those mushy types who care what really happens to my mother, but I do owe her you and your father 16 years ago when Madara controlled me. It's not my fault for the destruction since it wasn't my intention, but the burden is still on my shoulder and I will repay it." _The fox stared straight at Naruto. _"And you're going to help."_

"H, how?"

"_All she needs for her injuries to heal is chakra and the sword efficiently blocked all of it. You will be the medium that will transfer my chakra to her."_

Naruto was taken aback for a while but nodded defiantly. Kyuubi made a small smile that he couldn't see. The fox couldn't believe how much Naruto and Suzaku were alike despite their totally different looks.

He snapped back to the reality in an instant. He saw Rena who was… almost dead. Tentatively, he put his hand where her heart would be nearby. He felt his body enveloping in familiar red chakra. But for some reason, he wasn't afraid or angry. Unlike last time that Kyuubi's and his chakra mingled, he was in total control. And carefully, he pushed his chakra into Rena's body.

Rena convulsed as a reaction to a new chakra. Naruto quickly held onto her and pressed on. Slowly but surely, her injuries were healing.

Pein watched this in horror and tried to stop them but to no avail. The barrier was still strong. No, it was getting stronger! He couldn't believe what was happening. Here he was, almost to the brink of victory, just so that the brat would revive her!

Pein summoned a hug lightening from the sky and it struck down to the barrier directly. Naruto, who was now enveloped in Kyuubi's chakra, felt a shock in his body and nearly fainted. But he held on tightly and kept going.

Pein kept his attacks at full force, hoping to break the barrier. Slowly but surely, it was getting weaker. He could feel it. With Suzaku out of picture, it was Naruto who was holding the barrier. He was doing well with Kyuubi's help so far, but there was not much time or chakra, especially when he was sending huge amount of chakra to Suzaku.

Naruto was feeling dizzy as if a hammer was pounding his head. He was already experiencing nausea from transferring chakra rather unnaturally; but every attack that Pein was inflicting was directly affecting Naruto as well. He was feeling faint and almost threw up but he knew that he was the last hope for reviving Rena. He gritted his teeth in determination. Hopefully, it wouldn't take long, because he honestly could not tell how much longer he could go on.

When Naruto thought he would not be able to continue any longer, a gentle yet firm hand grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away. He felt his chakra flow stop and fell almost unconscious from exhaustion. Rena gently pulled him up and put him on the ground. Her smile was grateful and gentle.

"Thank you, Naruto. I don't know how to express my gratitude."

Naruto didn't say anything in response but gave her the tightest hug that his exhausted body could give. "It's OK… Mom…"

Rena's eyes grew slightly wide from astonishment. He knew…. But his gentle tone and words confirmed that he didn't hate her. No, he had forgiven for what she had done and it was the best thing she could ever dream of. She could feel her eyes filling with tears, and throat choking. She hugged him back tightly.

Then she felt a murderous intent from the back and immediately blocked the attack. Up above, Pein was standing there with his face distorted in annoyance.

Rena stood up defiantly. Now, she had taken off all her burdens. She had no secrets to hold, nothing to be afraid of. She could engage in this battle with no regrets. _Minato…_ She thought. _Our boy has grown so much. Just like you and I had hoped to be. He's a strong and good boy. No, more of a man now. I wish you could have been here to see him…._

"Getting reminiscent?" Pein teased. He knew that even though Suzaku was standing right now, he had the upper hand. The power of eight bijuus wasn't something that could be easily overcome. She was standing now, but she wouldn't be able to fight full force like before. But he also had another trick up in his sleeves. The last torture. The last piece of memory that she buried a long time ago. It was time to bring it back up and twist her heart.

Rena's expression became horrified as Pein's hand grabbed the side of his face and ripped it off slowly as if it was a mask. Kakashi's eyes grew as well. Was Pein also using Immortality Jutsu like Orochimaru?

Off with his current face came the face of a beautiful man with ocean blue hair and matching eyes. He had markings on his cheek and pointed ears just like Rena's. The entire facial structure looked delicate and his big eyes were slightly pointing upward, giving him a somewhat arrogant, elf-like look. However, his overall appearance gave him a regal power that couldn't be explained easily with words.

Rena was frozen as if time had stopped. Her body was trembling uncontrollably. The face that she never wished to see yet dreamed everyday stared at her blankly. A sly and cruel smile spread across the beautiful face as Pein said, "so you haven't forgotten about him, eh? I have to say your nickname, _Memory Keeper_, is appropriate for you—because you never forget. No matter how much pain it will bring it to you."

"Don't you dare the death like that!" Rena managed to burst out. "As Goddess of Death, I can't allow that!"

"Oh, but milady." Pein mocked in a different voice. Kakashi saw Rena flinch when she heard the voice. Did she know that voice? "Seiryuu didn't die accordingly. He merely tried to conceal me in his body." His face stretched into maniacal smile. "How dare he thinks that he can handle my power? The power that was granted by _humans._ Do you remember, Suzaku? I was created by the very creatures that you're throwing your life away for. They destroyed your beloved, more than once, I can say. And yet, you're still trying to protect them."

"Shut up! You don't know anything about Seiryuu!" Rena was still trembling widely. It had been nearly a thousand years since her lover, Seiryuu the Dragon of West, tried to seal Shounu into his body. Instead, he was overwhelmed by Shounu's power and he was standing there right now. She knew that Pein or Shounu effectively took over the body a long time ago. However, she could never give up hope that Seiryuu might be there somewhere inside. Hidden, waiting for her to awake him.

Not ceasing to laugh, Pein casually cast a lightning bolt to Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto who were still immobilized. Rena instinctively cast a barrier around them. The shock from the lightening hitting the barrier transferred to her body directly. She knelt down in pain when she felt something from her throat and couldn't help but cough it out. The crimson blood stained the ground that she was kneeling on.

She wobbled upright. She didn't have much time or strength. There was only one thing she could do and she was scared to do so. What if she failed? What if he found out and stopped her before she could do it? What if…..?

Then she remembered the important people in her life… How they sacrificed their lives to save the beloved, no matter how scared they were. Seiryuu sacrificed his life to save her and his friends. Minato sacrificed his in order to save her and Naruto. Rena closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. It was her time now. It was her turn to entrust the future to her beloved and believe in them.

Rena quickly casted Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto into the barrier that Jiraiya was kept in. Pein gave her an interested look, knowing that she meant the final hit. Rena eyed him carefully. Now, she really hoped that her acting would work. She was in so much pain and nausea that she could hardly think straight. But she had to hold on. Just for now….

She looked at Pein and started laughing maniacally. She stared at him in such a blank and tired way that Pein was taken aback a bit. His brain was running wildly: could it be that she couldn't handle the shock and has finally gone crazy?

"Oh, dear Shounu…" She started lazily, taking deliberately slow steps. "I'm so tired out of this nonsense. Let's finish it, here and now."

And Rena charged into Pein rather recklessly. In those split seconds, Pein knew that she had finally lost it and she wasn't going to make it. Then what else did he have to do? She was marching to her death! All he had to do was stick out his sword and….

The deafening silence took place as Rena's and Pein's eye met. She literally marched right through the sword! The sword was drenched in the blood from Rena's abdomen. She marched in until her body was stopped by the hilt. Rena's hazed eyes met Pein's. He didn't know what was going on. Then a smile crossed her face. Her bloodied hands grabbed his own which were holding the sword. She breathed heavily and let out, "I finally got you."

Pein's eyes grew wide in shock and horror. He finally realized what she was planning. During the fight, he never allowed too close of a distance between them. He always used water or lightening jutsus to pull her away from him. Therefore, Rena acted as if she was crazy to make herself an easy prey so that Pein wouldn' t even bother to use his jutsus to finish her. Having a sword also turned out to be her advantage. But what was she going to do?

Soon, they were engulfed in the ball of flame. In the sphere were only Pein and Rena. Rena breathed slowly and glared at Pein. She knew she couldn't hold on much longer.

"You know, have you ever thought about death?" She asked slowly. "Our time is already over. The world is going to be shaped by human, not us. And I'm going to end it here."

"You… You!!! You're not going to get out of here alive!" Pein spat out. He was trying to get his hands out of her grip, but it was too strong. She was holding onto him as tightly as she could. She let out a small laugh.

"Me? I wasn't going to get out of here anyway. So it will really be over."

"No… NO!" Pein struggled. "I came too far to end up like this! YOU!" He hissed. "How dare you destroy my master plan? How dare you?!"

"Well, we can argue about that in _afterlife_." Then she freed his hands as the flame engulfed him.

"NNNOOOOO!"

Kakashi, Jiraiya and Sasuke watched the ball of flame in horror from outside. What was going on? Then the flame was gone as fast as it had appeared and there was Rena by herself. They almost cheered in joy when they saw that Rena was falling apart—literally. Her fingertips and feet were disintegrating as if the burned papers were falling away. Rena looked at them in sad eyes.

"I really have no chakra left. That jutsu… was my strongest one. I use all of my chakra to burn the opponents and myself. Well, I guess this is goodbye." She tried to sound casual, but they could all tell that she was far from casual.

She eyed Naruto who was still unconscious. "Please take care of Naruto for me. Tell him I loved him and I will always love him. I wish…. I wish I could have spent more time with him. But at least, the danger is gone now." She smiled and started humming a song. The song was sweet and sad and soothing. They could instantly tell it was a lullaby. A final lullaby to a sleeping child that she loved.

"Jiraiya-sama, thanks for everything. If you're still mad at me for what I couldn't do 16 years ago, please do forgive me….

Sasuke, please cherish the second chance you got. Live it to the fullest and enjoy the life as you can.

Kakashi… I don't even know where to begin. But I think I can say this now: I love you. I do, and I always will. But please, do find a better person. Please forget about me and move on. With all the lies and sins I have committed, I don't deserve your love."

They all wanted to say something in return but they knew their time was over—_her_ time was over. She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Her body was almost gone. She cast a last glance at them and said, "Goodbye."

And she was gone. Forever from this world….


	42. Epilogue

**FINALLY THE ENDING!!! just to let you know, this is VERY VERY LONG. Sorry about the length, but I really didn't like the idea of splitting the epilogue.**

* * *

"You're doing that again!" said Sakura, hardly able to contain her laugh. Instead of explaining any further, Sakura decided to put away some papers.

"Eh?" Naruto stared at her blankly, not knowing what she was talking about at first. Then, he remembered something that she told him countless times.

"I was humming that song again?!" He annoyingly scratched the back of his head, almost dropping his papers. Sakura laughed wholeheartedly. Naruto was one of the strongest trainees for ANBU. It wasn't surprising that he would pass the test once he turned eighteen, making him the youngest ANBU member since Itachi and Kakashi. That eventful day would be today, as Naruto would turn eighteen today. Even all kinds of training, Naruto was still Naruto: clumsy, knucklehead, hot tempered. However, one could see from Naruto's eyes that his maturity deepened, his view of the world broadened and he had a sense of understanding himself and accepting it. Most people were somewhat bewildered by his sudden change, but Kakashi, Sasuke and Jiraiya would exchange knowing looks.

However, it was not that people were completely ignorant. After Tsunade's effort, the formula that clouded the memory of Uzumaki Kushina finally revealed itself and the villagers finally realized Naruto's real lineage. Interestingly, it didn't change people's attitude that much because Naruto was already proving himself to be worthy of other's trusts with his various accomplishments. Being a son of former Hokage helped a little for the foundation that he had already created.

Naruto put the papers on the desk and slowly drifted to daydream. The song that he just couldn't get out of his head…. He didn't exactly remember where he heard from, but Kakashi later told him that it was Suzaku's—his mother's—last song before… before she disappeared.

Naruto felt something clutching his throat. He finally knew who his parents were—who _he_ was. And when he finally learned who Rena really was… He just couldn't believe that the person who he wanted to meet the most was right in front of him all along. While he was going through the influx of emotions in the dreamland, various questions floated in his head: Could he ever forgive her? Did he love her? Did she deserve a second chance?

After looking at her past, no, _experiencing_ her past, he knew what she had felt and the agony she had gone through for the painful decision that she had to make in the split second. Yes, he could forgive her. She was his mother after all…. And yet, he could not be with her at her last moment.

Kakashi told him about the fateful moment: How Naruto managed to revive Rena from the brink of the death, after a brief talk with half-dead Naruto, Kakashi said that she looked more determined than ever. Then… she used her last jutsu to erase Pein from the history of the mankind, bringing her own death in the process.

Kakashi told him that Rena was very happy at the end. Her last words always resonated within Naruto's heart, even though he had never heard it himself. He desperately wished that he could see her again. No, he desperately wished that she could be with him again…. If he ever knew who she was from the beginning, he would have cherished their time together a lot more.

"Naruto!" He snapped out of his thought, looking at Sakura rather surprised. Sakura shook her head. It wasn't unusual for Naruto to go daydream whenever she pointed out that he was humming that peculiar song. She didn't have a specific idea about the origin of the song since she wasn't at the battlefield, but she had a rough notion that it was an important song for him.

"Remember that we were supposed to have a dinner with Sasuke and Kakashi?" She waved her clipboard in front of Naruto. "I will be a bit late because I have to make the last round to the greenhouse. So you guys can just go to the restaurant, OK?"

Naruto nodded in response and headed out to the clear evening of the autumn. The air was clear and the sun had already dyed the sky in the ethereal shade of blue and pink. A breeze gently brushed against his hair. He breathed deeply with his nose and he could smell the bitter yet fresh scent of the autumn leaves that the breeze carried.

_It had been almost two years,_ he thought. And yet, he could hardly forget about her. No, the more the time passed, the more vivid his memory became. Especially, the autumn reminded him a lot of Rena._ Probably because of her hair color_, he mused. _Or it could be the season._ After all, autumn had the power of making people reminiscent. Naruto took brisk steps toward the restaurant, dying to meet his old friends for his quiet birthday.

* * *

Sakura hated doing the last round of the greenhouse. Because the plants mostly "slept" during the evening and night, she didn't think there was a point of making the last round. But it was her turn to do it and she couldn't really complain as a medic-nin. She just wanted to make a quick round so that she could join the other people for Naruto's birthday.

"Eh?" Sakura stopped when she was on the way out. There was a weird glow from the pond. In the pond was nothing but red lotuses that Rena had left. Curious, Sakura took cautious steps back to the pond where the flowers laid.

Red lotuses brought an enormous fortune to Konoha. When the existence of red lotuses became clear, all the countries wanted to buy the legendary flowers. Strangely enough, whenever other countries tried to breed the red lotuses in their countries, the flowers would immediately die. With unintentional monopoly of the red lotuses, Konoha made so much money that the entire standard of people's economy boosted by almost double. This was probably the last gift to Konoha by Suzaku, seeking for their forgiveness for tempering with their memories.

Sakura's eyes grew wide with astonishment when she saw an unbelievable spectacular. The biggest red lotus that refused to bloom for almost two years… It finally bloomed and inside was a beautiful spark of fire that she had never seen before.

The fire glowed and danced around the petal in all spectrum of color, mostly shining brightly in white. Sakura's whole attention fixed to that beautiful speckle of fire. She had no idea what it was, or _why_ it was there. The unblooming petal piqued all kinds of curiosity and interests of herbalists and medic-nin. There were many guesses and possible explanation, but they never came to a conclusion as to why this mysterious flower never bloomed. And here she was, witnessing the miracle that this red lotus was presenting.

Absentmindedly, she reached out her hand. When her hand was so close that she could feel the warmth of the flame, a vision came to her: A figure of someone with Kyuubi behind him. The flame was calling for that person, longing for him. Sakura stopped her hand. She finally understood the meaning of the flame. Without hesitation, she ran to the restaurant to see the birthday boy.

* * *

"I… I think I specifically said I wanted a quiet birthday." Naruto grumbled, fixing the stupid looking birthday hat on his head. His friends could tell that Naruto didn't hate the big group though. Literally, everyone was there: Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hinata, Sasuke, Kakashi, Kiba, Neji, Lee, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Tenten, Chouji… _everyone_. He almost forgot just how many friends he had. Unlike his early childhood, he wasn't alone anymore. He already knew this, but it was nice to be reminded.

"Hehehe, Naruto is about to be a crybaby!" Kiba teased Naruto, already shoving in some of the food in his mouth.

"Shuddup, who are you calling a crybaby?" Naruto's voice cracked. His eyes didn't have any tears, but everyone could tell that he was grateful for everyone presence.

"Now, now. Why don't we stop bickering and get the fun started?" Kakashi interrupted a rather emotional silence and held out a bottle of Sake. Naruto smiled at his sensei. As of 18, he was now old enough to drink. He remembered getting rejected every time he asked for a cup of Sake. He gladly took a cup from Sasuke.

"CHEERS!" Everyone was enjoying good food, alcohol (if they were old enough), good company, and, of course, Naruto's birthday. They were all genuinely happy for Naruto and his success.

When the party was getting warm and everyone was having fun, Sakura ran into the restaurant. She looked somewhat frantic. Everyone assumed so since she missed good one-third of the party. However, her behavior somewhat befuddled everyone.

"Naruto, you have to go to the greenhouse with me. NOW." Sakura blurted out, still trying to catch her breath from vigorous run.

"…What?" Naruto asked hazily, somewhat confused. The alcohol was definitely getting into his system and his response was a bit slower than usual, which exasperated Sakura. She grabbed Naruto's wrist and tugged harshly.

"Come on! You have to follow me. There is something very important."

Naruto looked at Sakura incredulously. What could be possibly more important than his own 18th birthday?

"Naruto, I think this is something that might have to with Rena."

Sakura's words rang inside Naruto's head. He couldn't even remember the last time he had heard that name. The alcohol that was clouding his head cleared out immediately. His lazy eyes regained his sparkle as the words slowly sank in his brain. Naruto looked at Sakura incredulously, but in a different way now.

Sakura realized that she finally had the blond's attention. She tugged one more time. "Let's go, Naruto. She's waiting for you."

Naruto immediately cast a glance at Kakashi who was awestruck by what Sakura had said. As crazy as she sounded, two men both hoped that she was true. For some reason, they believed that there could be a miracle that Rena could be back to their lives. Naruto gave him a small nod. Kakashi, who wasn't still sure what he should do, avoided his gaze.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm sure my mom would love to see you if she can." Naruto whispered so that no one else could really hear him.

Kakashi flinched in reaction. His quivering, unsure eyes became determined and nodded back. Smiling, Naruto looked at Sakura who was also smiling. She didn't even have to tug his wrist anymore. They were out of the restaurant before she even knew.

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi watched the dancing flame in amazement. They remembered this special flame. It wasn't normal fire—it was _Suzaku's_ fire. They vaguely heard about the stubborn, and the biggest, petal that refused to bloom for almost two years…. _Was this her last gift? Did she already know that she won't come back after the battle with Pein?_ Many questions flashed through Naruto's mind. But before he could even think about them properly, he instinctively reached out his hand to the flame and when a little flicker touched his fingertip, his world was changed.

He was in the infinite darkness again, but he knew better that he was in state of his inner world, connected with Rena and Kyuubi. He realized that he was holding the white flame, glowing ever so brightly even in this darkness. Then the panorama began.

The scene sped through the last battle, her last moment that he never got to see. When she was finally gone, the scene abruptly changed to Konoha. _Present day_ Konoha. Naruto's eyes widened in bewilderment. What did Konoha have to do with anything. The scene rapidly showed the corners of all Konoha until it stopped at….

…The half-restored Temple of Fire…

Ever since it was heavily vandalized by children years ago, Konoha had been trying to re-build the temple. However, because of the grand scale of the building and heavy damage, they didn't manage to finish it yet. Why was it showing him this place? No one really went to that place since the construction wasn't even done yet and it was still considered dangerous to walk around.

Naruto was sucked into the building and he was led into the basement—somewhere that no one knew about. In the dim darkness, he squinted his eyes to see better. There, he found an extraordinary scene.

It was a sacred altar for Suzaku, meant to be guarded by Mikos. The desolate altar suddenly blazed with torches, lighting the entire area. Naruto looked around the small room and he found a huge heap of ash on the altar. Then, suddenly a voice rang through his ears.

_A firebird that willingly sacrificed her life in the flame shall be reborn in the ash with her sacred flame._

Then as sudden as his vision came, Naruto came back to reality. Kakashi looked at him curiously and excited at the same time, knowing already that Naruto had some kind of a vision. Naruto quickly explained what happened and Kakashi was astonished to hear his story. The vision was clear enough: Take the flame to the sacred altar of Suzaku and she shall be revived from the ashes.

"I've heard about that legend," said Kakashi while he was in deep thought. "The special ability of Firebird—or Phoenix—was to be reborn from her ashes when she had died. So, that's what Rena meant when she said that she was the only one with true immortality." Kakashi was hit with revelation. "Because none of the other Gods had that ability." He quickly explained. "Also, you said that the voice explicitly stated _willingly sacrificed_. If she was killed by someone, then she wouldn't have had this possibility. It was because she sacrificed her life for us… for _you._"

"Then why didn't she tell us about this? Why now?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi was wondering the very same thing. But knowing Rena… Knowing how she handled everything from the very beginning, the answer didn't come too difficult. "She wanted us to think about the past… more objectively. Having two years of gap will make us use more of our logic then emotion in the heat of the moment. For her, she was really ready to die and she wanted _us_ to really think through the possibility of reviving her."

"Does that mean…." Naruto tentatively stated his possibility. "That she thought that we might refuse to revive her?"

Kakashi nodded. "At that time, she didn't know if you could ever forgive her." He pointed to the flame. "When you were having a vision, I tried to touch the flame, but once it was in your hand, it refused any other contact. Sakura was able to touch it because she was the _messenger. _Rena specifically wanted _you_ to make the decision. If you take that flame to the altar, you will see her again. If not, you can just plunge the flame into the water and forget about it." Kakashi gave him a meaningful silence.

"So what is it going to be?"

* * *

"Well, we're here." Kakashi tried to be casual, but eve he couldn't hide his nervousness.

The room was as exactly as Naruto saw in his vision. The stones enclosed the area rather dryly with no decorations. The torches dimly lit the room. Naruto immediately noticed that this place was sacred and somber, not flamboyant as the rest of the temple.

Then on the altar was the huge ashtray that he had seen. He glanced at the little flame in his hands. So this was it. He was anxious but scared to know what would happen.

He took careful steps to the altar and looked down at the ashtray. Below that ash, no one knew what lay underneath. Drawing a deep breath, he slowly put down the flame onto the ash and the miracle began.

The flame quickly caught fire onto the ash, and Naruto jumped back in reaction. The flame kept getting bigger and bigger and they heard a beautiful song. A beautiful lullaby sung by Firebird, Memory Keeper, Uzumaki Kushina and Mizuho Rena—many names that people have remembered as. A great red bird sprouted from the flame, still singing the song. The bird eyed both of them carefully and gracefully flew out of the room and slowly and gradually the flame died out.

"....What… was that?" asked Naruto, still bewildered by what had happened.

"Well… Firebird was reborn." Kakashi tried his best, but he couldn't hide his disappointment.

"That was it? That's what the vision meant when it said _Firebird shall be reborn_? It had nothing to do with Rena?" Naruto's fist pounded bluntly on the stone wall. "What the hell was this for then? What the hell was that Firebird anyway?"

Kakashi knew better than not to degrade the sacred creature with harsh words, but he could sympathize with Naruto's disappointment. All they wished was to see her again… And they believed that their wish might come true… But to see that it was all in vain…

Then both of them felt something over the altar. They instantly stopped their talking and glanced at each other. They slowly turned their head toward the altar. But the altar was no different from before. They were about to give up for good, when they heard a shuffling sound.

Making sure that they weren't hallucinating, they took careful steps to the altar. There was nothing peculiar about the altar or the ashtray at his eyelevel which was still slightly burning, creating smoke. Naruto waved his hand in front of his face to get the smoke out of his eyes. There was nothing wrong, then what could be…

Then he noticed something was behind the giant altar. He gingerly walked around the altar to see the back side of the altar and he was struck with such great surprise that he was rooted to where he was standing.

Kakashi followed Naruto and halted altogether as well in astonishment. Behind the giant altar was a figure of a woman with long, silky black hair. Her head was facing down and they could barely see through the curtain of black hair, but she was dressed in… linen? No matter how much they tried to say otherwise, the only thing that they could call what was covering the woman's body was clean, bright, white linen.

As she slowly raised her head, both men were still stuck there with distant anxiety and fear. Only one thought was lingering in their mind: _Who was this woman?_

She pulled herself up gradually, but when she snapped her head up to meet Naruto's eyes, he saw a familiar pair of deep amber eyes. The woman pulled her hair backward with one of her hand, revealing a strikingly familiar facial feature. She mumbled, "…Naruto…?"

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. The vision came true… It really did. He had no idea why Rena had black hair, or the meaning of the Firebird that flew past him, but that didn't matter. He stumbled upon her, gave her a tight hug. Rena, who was still engrossed in shock, couldn't respond at all at sudden appearance of two people that she had loved the most.

Kakashi joined Naruto and carefully put his hand on her face. Both of them flinched when their skin touched each other. Her surprised eyes turned from Naruto to Kakashi and the truth finally hit her.

"You came for me…." She whispered. A single tear rolled down her cheek and her head relaxed on Naruto's shoulder who was still holding her.

"Of course, we did. Why wouldn't we? We would have done anything to bring you back," whispered Kakashi in her ears.

"I'm… I'm just so…" She couldn't continue her words and she decided to say the one thing that she wanted to say the most. "Thank you…" And she lost her consciousness.

* * *

"How is she doing?" inquired worried Kakashi. Tsunade just waved her hand nonchalantly to show that there was nothing to worry about.

"I guess the faint came from exhaustion and shock, but there is nothing wrong with her," informed Tsunade. When Naruto and Kakashi brought someone, Tsunade didn't have the slightest idea who it might be. When they told her who she was, she had to check to make sure that they weren't hallucinating. To her great surprise, she could sense the unique chakra of Rena. However, there was news that she had to give Kakashi. For good or bad, it was his decision to make.

"She is not a Goddess anymore."

"What?" Kakashi looked at her, surprised. What did she mean by that?

"Judging by your story, and Rena's condition right now, I believe that… The bird that you saw seems to be the essence of her demon self. Right now, Rena is nothing more than a normal female in late twenties. She doesn't have a supernatural power over her elements, or infinite chakra, or immortality. She will even age and die just like us. "

"So that's why her hair is black."

"Could be," Tsunade mused. "The red hair could have been symbol of Firebird as well."

"What should we do now?" Kakashi asked the question that had been bothering for a while. "We can't possibly say that we brought the dead back."

Tsunade didn't answer immediately for Kakashi's question. "I understand that it's natural for her to want to stay by Naruto's and… your side and I have no objection to that. However, we do need to cover some of the stories so that her presence will make sense."

"You mean, you want her to take another alias?"

Tsunade sighed. She didn't like the idea of it either, but it seemed to be the best choice. "We can talk about this when she wakes up, but as far as I can tell, this is for the best. The only ones who will know of her return are the ones who participated in her last battle. That makes you, Naruto, Jiraiya and Sasuke. Speaking of which, why don't you find and bring them here?"

Kakashi glumly nodded, hoping that this indeed was the best solution.

* * *

"I'm home." Naruto grumbled as he took off the dirt from his jacket. Today's mission was investigatory mission which included lots of hiding, rolling on the ground, and lack of comfort, food, and sleep. He hated those kinds of mission, but he knew that as a member of ANBU, he could not deal with these missions lightly. Although the possibility of combat was minimum, because of the high sensitivity of the mission, ANBU usually took care of the missions.

As soon as he changed his clothes and sat on the couch, incredible exhaustion attacked his body and mind. He felt something cold on his forearm and he opened his eyes to find Kakashi holding the glass of cold water. Gratefully, Naruto took it and gulped it down.

"I told you it was going to be a rough job." Kakashi commented.

"Che, I already know that, old man."

Glancing at his wounds, Kakashi didn't forget to mention, "Mizuki is not going to be happy about those."

Naruto grimaced. Seeing worried, or mad Mizuki was the last thing he wanted to see. But then, he saw her like that every time he came back from missions. Because of this, he always tried to get as little injuries as possible, but it wasn't something that he could actually control.

"Are you back, Naruto?" A melodious voice rang through the condo. Behind the door appeared a beautiful woman with long, ebony hair. She had her long hair tied to the back of her head in few loops except a handful hair on her side. She came running to Naruto's side, looking at the wounds and gave out a big sigh.

"I just hate how you come home all the time with these wounds." She quickly gathered her chakra to heal the minor wounds on his arms. "But I guess it's not that bad today. I'm glad."

She quickly stood up after she was done tending Naruto. "Dinner will be ready pretty soon, so give me a moment, OK?" Then she merrily skipped to the kitchen.

Naruto let a sigh of relief and looked at his clean arms. Although Mizuki was not a combat shinobi anymore—even though she very well could be—she was still considered as one of the best medic-nin in the village. Well, judging by her origin, it wasn't surprising that she was such a great shinobi.

It was almost 10 months since Naruto and Kakashi rescued Rena from the Temple of Fire. When Tsunade and Kakashi suggested taking yet another alias, she didn't show any reaction to it. She merely thought for a while and nodded in agreement. Kakashi never knew if she was truly happy for doing so, but the new surname that she came up with seemed to prove itself: Takara, which meant _treasure_.

"But you know, I have to say Mizuki is a pretty damn corny name." Naruto chuckled. "_Beautiful moon_, was it?"

Kakashi slightly blushed, hoping that Naruto didn't notice, turned his head away and grumbled something in response. Naruto just smiled. Mizuki was the first name that Kakashi had picked for Rena's new name. Rena liked it very much and took it gratefully.

To most people, Mizuki was a distant relative of Rena who was found stranded in the forest. Therefore, it explained to Sakura why the white flame led them to her. (Sakura still didn't know the truth about Mizuki) Sakura believed it as a rescue call from Rena for her endangered distant relative. Naruto started living with them couple months after Kakashi and Mizuki moved in. He was just renting one extra room in their apartment, but that was just a cover up. They were more or less like a family. Maybe not related by law, but by heart and blood (at least between Naruto and Mizuki).

"Dinner's ready!" Naruto and Kakashi gingerly went to the table where the delicious dinner waited them. Naruto, with big smile on his face, sat down and began to gulp down the food that she made.

After dinner, due to exhaustion, Naruto headed straight to bed and recharged all the sleep that he had been missing. Kakashi found Mizuki standing by the window, staring at the night sky. The silky moonlight shone brightly and Mizuki looked just breathless to Kakashi. He strode over to her, put a arm across her waist, holding her close.

There was something that had been bothering his mind for a while. No, from the moment when they rescued her. He was too afraid to ask. But he desperately wanted to know at the same time so he finally gathered enough courage.

"Mizuki…."

She looked up at him in deep, yet clear amber eyes. Kakashi almost gave up again like countless times, but he pushed himself.

"...Did you… did you ever regret that you were a human now?"

She looked rather surprised at the question, then she made a small smile. "Is that what you have wanted to ask me this entire time?"

Kakashi nervously nodded. His worry, however, was justifiable. Here she was: a former Goddess who created the world and shaped it. She gave up on all her privileges, most of her powers to stay with them. He already knew that if she could choose, she could go to the afterlife where all of her old friends waited—including his sensei. As much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, he could never get rid of the feeling that she might have wanted something else.

Mizuki just smiled and gave him a small kiss. "No, I never did. I'm happy as I am."

"...Are… Are you sure?" Kakashi's face shone with happiness.

She nodded. "I couldn't have asked for anything better."


End file.
